To The Deep North
by wlkwos
Summary: The Shinobi War rages. Kirigakure has fallen. Akatsuki spies are everywhere. Konoha is under threat. Trapped in the far north, Team Seven struggles to survive a deadly game of cat and mouse in the endless winter night. AU
1. The Foggy City

I'd like to thank Strategy Moonshining for her encouraging and positive feedback on the first two chapters. I'd also like to thank the fantastic Just Subliminal for pointing out the inconsistencies and confusing bits in the story, becoming attached to my version of Sakura, and agreeing to be my reader-in-advance and beta.

Feedback is always appreciated!

**Disclaimer:** _Naruto_ is the property of Masashi Kishimoto.

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><p>To the Deep North<p>

- and back again -

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><p>Chapter One<p>

The Foggy City

Thick fog lay on the sea. Wreaths of cloud drifted across the water, deadening the sound of the sea swells. The world was quiet, eerily quiet, a strange place of floating mist and shallow-rolling waves. The only thing that moved through the fog was a small junk, rocked by the slow motion of the swells.

To Sakura, leaning on the ship's railing, it seemed that she was adrift in a place that was not quite real. Everything around her was muffled in white and grey, shifting with the clouds. At one moment a wave was distant, hazy, a black undulation in the fog, and then suddenly magnified and seeming so close she could touch it. No living creatures stirred, no birds skimming the surface of the water, no dolphins diving around the prow. It was as though nothing existed beyond the sliding banks of cloud.

"Hey, Sakura-chan, what're you doing?"

She turned to see her teammates approaching, Naruto still rubbing the sleep from his eyes. Sasuke, beside him, looked as neat and alert as ever, his gaze flicking around the ship's deck, observing and cataloguing all that he saw.

"Where did this fog come from?" Naruto asked as the boys joined her at the railing. "It wasn't here last night." He yawned widely, stretching his arms above his head and cracking his knuckles.

Sakura shrugged. "It could be a sign that we're nearing land, though it's unusual for this time of year."

"Land!" said Naruto. "About time!"

"We've only been on the boat two days," Sakura pointed out. "That's hardly a long time."

"But it's boring and there's nothing to do, Sakura-chan."

Sasuke snorted. "And you just can't wait to see Koyuki again, because maybe this time you'll be awake when she kisses you."

Naruto flushed. "No, no, that's not it," he said quickly. "I mean, it will be cool, seeing Koyuki and all, but I don't want a kiss. Though it might be kinda nice."

Sakura raised her eyebrows, and Naruto rubbed the back of his head nervously. "Hey, she's really pretty," he said, "and she's a princess."

"And being a princess automatically makes her a good kisser," drawled Sasuke. Leaning with folded arms on the railing, he did not take his eyes from the sea.

"Like you would know. You've never kissed a girl."

"Neither have you."

"At least I've been kissed by one."

"Whilst unconscious."

"Still counts."

Sakura sighed and returned to watching the swell and the fog, tuning the boys out with practiced ease. A small wave slapped against the side of the junk, tossing up fingers of foam to spatter Sakura's dangling hands. When they had left from the Fire Country port, the sun had been shining, without a cloud in the sky, the last of the Indian summer. Now this dense, impenetrable fog pressed in from all sides. She wondered if the captain could still hold his course through the cloud, or whether they might be completely and utterly lost, doomed to go in circles in the mist forever and ever. She paused for a moment, considering it, and then laughed at the ridiculousness of the idea.

"What's so funny, Sakura-chan?"

She straightened up. "Nothing really. I was just thinking about the fog."

"It's weird stuff," said Naruto. "Gives me the creeps."

Sakura nodded. "It's like we're in another world, like everything melted away in the night and there's nothing left except clouds. What do you think, Sasuke-kun?"

Still staring out at the sea, Sasuke grunted.

There was a long silence, the only sound the slapping of the little waves and the creaking of the junk's timbers. The sail on the mast flapped feebly in the eddying breeze.

"It kind of reminds me of the fight with Zabuza," said Naruto at last. "It feels the same."

"That's because it is the same," said Sasuke. "You were right, Sakura. This isn't an ordinary fog. Can't you feel the chakra embedded in it?"

Sakura's heart suddenly seemed to skip a beat. That would explain the strange pressure in the air. "Kirigakure no jutsu," she said, and her hand went automatically to the shuriken holster strapped to her thigh.

"I thought we were allies with the Hidden Mist," said Naruto. "They shouldn't attack us."

Sasuke shrugged. "Wartime precautions."

Sakura put her hand back on the railing. "An early warning system against Akatsuki," she said, glancing anxiously at Naruto. Sure, she knew he was quite capable of defending himself – hell, he'd taken down the Six Paths of Pain single-handed and been instrumental in the Allied victory in the battle with Akatsuki – but he was still a target. The new leader of Akatsuki, this Uchiha Madara, was, from all she had heard and seen, even more dangerous than Pain had been, yet Tsunade had been willing to send Naruto on this mission with only Sasuke, Yamato and Sakura herself to accompany and protect him.

"Shouldn't there be more jounin on the mission?" Sakura had asked the Hokage, but Tsunade had laughed.

"You saw him on the battlefield, didn't you?" she had said. "Naruto is worth a dozen jounin."

"What about Kakashi-sensei? The letter requested him as well."

Tsunade had shaken her head. "We can't afford to send him away from Headquarters. He's too valuable a strategist and general. Besides," she had gone on, "I have complete faith in you three. You're one of the strongest teams in Konoha."

Some of Sakura's persisting doubt must have shown on her face, for Tsunade had added, "And if anything goes wrong, there's an Allied division quartered near Kirigakure, including a number of ANBU. Sai is one of them. You can always fall back on them in an emergency."

Now, standing on the deck of the little ship, the boys on either side of her, Sakura let herself relax. They were approaching the Water Country, and this thick mist was a protective covering. She might not like the prickling sensation of the chakra-laden cloud passing over and around her, but it was an assurance that all was well and that the sentries of the Hidden Mist were still vigilant.

Her stomach rumbled, loudly and unexpectedly, and both boys turned to look at her. "I was waiting for you two to get up," she said defensively.

Naruto grinned at her. "Well, let's get some breakfast before you die of starvation. You're already skinny and worried about your flat chest, and not eating won't help you get – oh, no, no, I didn't mean it that way! I think you're fine the way you are, Sakura-chan," he said hurriedly, backing away from her as she glared at him.

Sasuke looked on dispassionately. He was calculating how soon Naruto would be on the receiving end of Sakura's formidable right hook. His current estimate suggested that Naruto had less than a sentence to go.

"There's nothing wrong with your flat – owwww!"

Correct. Sasuke allowed himself a moment of satisfaction, though he was careful to keep an impassive face when Sakura looked his way, as though daring him to comment. The last time he had let his amusement show, he had found himself on the ground beside Naruto, with a very sore jaw and his dignity all in tatters. It was safer not to react at all and to stay very, very still.

For a long moment, Sasuke stayed very cool and very calm and very uninterested under the gaze of his female teammate. Then, giving a little huff, Sakura spun on her heel and stalked back along the deck towards the galley. Both boys watched her go, Naruto rubbing the side of his face.

"I don't know why she won't ever listen to me," he said mournfully. "There's nothing wrong with the size of her chest."

"Shut up, you moron," said Sasuke. "You're just digging yourself deeper."

Naruto picked himself up. "Do you think it'll be safe to join her for breakfast?"

Aware of a gnawing feeling in his stomach and wondering how long he had before it would develop into a full-blown grumble, Sasuke did not hesitate. "Yes," he said, and when Naruto looked reluctant, he added, "Yamato's just gone in there now. I'm sure he'll protect you, you sorry specimen of a ninja."

x

Over breakfast, Yamato confirmed that the fog was the Hidden Mist's way of protecting itself from intruders. "It's a sign that the coast is not far away," he said. "We should reach port within the next hour. The captain will be taking on stores for the rest of the trip, so there will be time to leave the boat if you want to."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "Land again!" he said. "Ramen again! Are there any good ramen places in Mizushima?"

Yamato smiled. "Just don't forget your travel passes," he said, looking pointedly at Naruto. "You may wear Allied forehead protectors, but the Kirigakure nins will want to check your identity."

The three young shinobi nodded soberly. During the big battle just over a month ago, Akatsuki had used strange soldiers that were capable of turning into anyone they touched, replicating their appearance exactly. The Alliance was trying to weed out all the impostors that had infiltrated their ranks since then, but their efforts were hindered by frequent skirmishes with these Akatsuki soldiers.

Yamato stood up. "I will be meeting a messenger from the Allied division in port. Whatever you three decide to do whilst I'm gone, I expect you to be back on board the ship by midday." He turned to go, then stopped and swung back. "Take these in case there's trouble," he said, holding out three little seeds in the palm of his hand.

Naruto and Sasuke swallowed theirs unhesitatingly, but Sakura paused, rolling the seed between her fingers. There was something about the way that Yamato had mentioned trouble that gave her a feeling of unease.

"Taichou?" she asked. "Is there anything we need to know?"

He shook his head. "Nothing out of the ordinary. Just be alert. And remember, the civilians of this country are not overly fond of shinobi, especially ones with bloodline limits. Now, if you will excuse me, I must get ready for the meeting."

x

The port city of Mizushima lay on the south-eastern shore of a large bay surrounded by steep headland hills and cliffs. It was a natural harbour, protected from the sea by a jutting peninsula that thrust out into the mouth of the bay, and consequently had become the focus of the Water Country's shipping trade and fishing industry. All along the fog-bound wharfs and jetties, ships and boats of all shapes and sizes were anchored. Here a merchantman was offloading a cargo of rice, timber and jute, and here its neighbour was filling its hold with dried kelp and smoked fish, and barrels of Kasenshiki beer. Farther along, a fishing boat was returning to port after a voyage out into the cold seas north of the Water Country archipelago. On the dock, seagulls squabbled over scraps of refuse.

Beyond the merchant and fishing ports was the home port, where the Fire Country junk lay at anchor. Yamato had already gone to meet his contact, and the three young shinobi were preparing to disembark. They had taken Yamato's advice and left their forehead protectors, kunai holsters and all other visible evidence that they were shinobi in their cabins, though Sakura had made very sure that they were all carrying their travel passes. Now they were waiting for the cook to finish drawing a map to the best ramen shop he could recommend.

Naruto was in an agony of impatience, but doing his best to keep it restrained. Occasional whimpers broke from him as he watched the cook painstakingly label each street and landmark, breaking off to cross out the incorrectly-placed ones and draw them in again.

"Oh man, hurry up," he moaned. "He's taking forever."

Sasuke shrugged.

"I wish he'd hurry up. I want to get off this boat," Naruto went on. "We don't have much time here."

"Does it take you two hours to eat a bowl of ramen?" Sakura asked.

"But we have to find the place, Sakura-chan, and then I have to decide which one to try," Naruto explained. "I can't afford one of each."

Sakura was about to retort that she'd seen him try one of each at Ichiraku often enough when Naruto gave a glad cry and dashed forward to take the finished map from the cook. "Thank you!" he said. "Ramen again!"

The cook rose to his feet, smoothing out his apron over his paunch. "It's the best place I know of," he said. "Now, these streets here" – he jabbed at the map with one stubby finger – "you shouldn't go down. It's a bad area, all sorts of waterfront dives down there. That's where you'll find a lot of dangerous people."

"Sure thing, old man," said Naruto, grinning from ear to ear. "Thanks for the map! Sakura-chan, Sasuke, let's go!"

Once off the boat, it soon became clear that the cook had a patchy and inaccurate memory for directions. Not only was the map full of scratched out streets, but it was also simply wrong. After twenty minutes of wandering up and down, poring over the map and arguing whether this street was crossed out or not and where exactly they were on the map now, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were tempted to take to the roofs and hunt for the ramen shop that way. Heads bent close together over the increasingly crumpled piece of paper and bickering amongst themselves, they were sufficiently off-guard to be startled when someone asked, "Can I help you?"

Looking up, they saw a nondescript young man standing before them, smiling pleasantly. "You seem lost," he said. "Is there a place you're looking for?"

"Yes!" said Naruto, and thrust the map at him. "This place. Namimori Ramen."

The young man raised his eyebrows. "Namimori? It's kind of expensive, and it caters to tourists who don't know better. I know some cheaper places that are just as good."

"Really?" Naruto asked him eagerly, and the young man nodded.

Now that they had a guide and were no longer focused on the map, Sakura found herself taking in more of the city around them. Most of the land surrounding the bay was steep and hilly where it was not cliffs, and Mizushima City was no exception. There was a belt of flat land along the waterfront that went back some way before the ground began to rise, but most of that was given over to the ports and the warehouses. The rest of the city was built on the slopes that climbed up and up into the fog.

The ramen stand that Tadashi, their guide, led them to was partway up one of the hills. Even before they reached it, the smell of hot broth came drifting to their noses, and Sakura found that she was hungry after all. Whilst Naruto tried to choose between the pork and the miso ramen, she and Sasuke placed their orders and then sat gazing out through the _noren_ curtains at the street and the passers-by.

"It's a popular place," Sakura said, as the stools along the edge of the bar filled up. The new arrivals were clearly regulars, from the way they joshed the cook, and most of them seemed to know Tadashi. At her side, Sasuke was oddly uncomfortable, almost tense, but then again, he'd never been fond of attention, and the other customers _were_ giving them interested glances.

"It's a secret that only the locals know about," Tadashi told her, giving her one of his pleasant smiles.

"You must have a lovely view from up here when the sun shines," she said, and he laughed.

"We have fog often in the summer," he told her. "Usually at this time of year the views are at the best, but the ninja have cloaked the coasts in fog for weeks and weeks now." He paused, and then looked hard at the three of them. "It's all part of the war, they tell us. They want to make sure no spies get through."

It was obvious he suspected them, and Sakura suddenly realised that the other diners were all looking their way. So Tadashi and his friends had intended to corner them here. For a moment, she considered moulding her chakra to alert Yamato, but then thought better of it. They were dealing with ordinary townsfolk after all.

"We're not spies, if that's what you're worried about," Naruto said. "We have travel passes."

One of the newcomers got up and walked over to them. "Let's see them, then," he said, looming threateningly over them.

Obligingly, they held their passes up for inspection, and Tadashi's face darkened. "So you are ninja after all," he said. "What business do you have here?"

The three shinobi exchanged a glance amongst themselves. "We're just stopping here briefly," said Sakura, and Sasuke added, "We're on a mission to the Allied division stationed on the island."

Tadashi's looming friend gave a short laugh. "On a mission to the Allied division," he scoffed. "May you have luck finding what's left of it."

Sasuke blanched, and Sakura felt her heart stumble, miss a beat, and then start racing madly. "What do you mean," she asked, " 'what's left of it'?"

Tadashi smiled unpleasantly. "News came in during the night that there was a battle at Kirigakure. The Allied division lost."

"But the fog – you've still got the fog up," said Sakura.

"There are Kirigakure ninja stationed in the town," Tadashi told them. "They refuse to let it down, even though the Hidden Village has fallen."

"They'll bring Akatsuki here," said one of the others angrily. "We've told them to go away, and they won't."

"We don't want shinobi here," said another. "You can get out of here too!"

Sakura looked around. The small ramen shop was filled with angry-faced men and women, all of them glaring at the three ninja. It was clear that the best course of action would be to go back to the ship quietly and quickly and to set sail as soon as they could. If Akatsuki were here …

Her eyes darted to Naruto. His face was set, determined, and as she looked at him, he drew a deep breath in. In a flash, she realised that he was about to launch into one of his impassioned speeches about bonds and harmony and friendship. Hastily, she stamped on his foot, hissing, "Read the mood!"

"What are you waiting for?" called one of the women from the back of the crowd. "Go on, get out of here!"

Grasping Naruto firmly by the arm, Sakura stood up. "We'll be on our way then," she said. "Come on, Sasuke-kun, Naruto."

The crowd parted before her as she frogmarched Naruto to the door, a very pale Sasuke following. She did not need to look back to know that the crowd had closed in behind them again, and that Tadashi and his friends were coming after them.

As soon as they had passed beneath the _noren_ hanging over the doorway of the bar, Naruto turned to her. "What did you do that for, Sakura-chan?" he asked. "I think they'd have listened."

She shook her head. "Didn't you see their faces?" she said. "They really hate ninja. Besides, Yamato-taichou told us that they –"

"– hate ninja like Sasuke with bloodline limits," Naruto finished for her. "I know, I know."

"Not so loud, you idiot!" Sakura hissed, looking over her shoulder at Tadashi and the others following them to see if they had heard.

Naruto and Sasuke exchanged a glance, and Sakura realised they were thinking that she was overreacting, like some frightened genin. Hot with humiliation and anger she tightened her grip on Naruto's arm. "Look," she said fiercely, "they're not ninja, but allied citizens, and that's exactly the problem. If they attack us, we can't retaliate – so we'd better keep going and not do anything to provoke them."

"All right, all right, I get the point," said Naruto. "D'you think you could let go my arm, Sakura-chan? Only you're holding a bit tight and I'm losing feeling in my fingers …"

"Wimp," said Sasuke. Despite his lighthearted tone, Sakura thought his face was strained. The news about the Allied division had evidently shaken him badly. And then she remembered that Tsunade had said Sai was a part of it. Sai, she thought, Sai, please be all right.

The journey back down to the port was an unpleasant one. Wherever they looked, there were people standing in doorways or glaring out of windows at them, whilst the small crowd from the ramen shop followed them, its numbers slowly growing. Sakura glanced back once to see that it had more than doubled in size, so that there were maybe twenty or twenty-five people there. It was hard to count them properly in the thickening fog.

Something flew past Sakura's head and fell to the ground with a clatter. It was a stone. A heartbeat of time later, it was followed by a second, and a boy's angry cry. "Get out of here, damn ninja! We'll kill you if you stay!"

As if he had given a signal, the rest of the crowd began to call and jeer. Several more stones clattered around them, and one hit Sakura between the shoulder blades, driving the breath from her. Hearing her gasp, Naruto whirled around to face the mob, his eyes blazing and his jaw set.

"Back off!" he said. "We're on our way, so back off!"

Tadashi stepped up to him. "Get going faster, shinobi," he said, and pushed Naruto in the chest.

Naruto stayed put, his eyes glinting as he gazed at the man, and Sakura, still shaken and struggling for breath, felt a sudden pang of anxiety. If he were about to do something stupid!

The next moment, an empty beer bottle hurtled out of the crowd and struck Naruto a blow to the head. He dropped to his knees as the bottle smashed into shards on the ground, and Tadashi lashed out with one foot, aiming square for his face. Sakura sprang forward to get between Naruto and the kick, but Sasuke was even faster, a dark streak in the fog. An instant later, Tadashi was on the ground, clutching his ankle and cursing.

"Sakura, take a look at the idiot. I'll cover you."

Kneeling beside Naruto, she looked up at Sasuke's back as he stood between them and the mob. "What if they throw more things?" she asked.

Sasuke glanced down at her. "I'll be fine," he said, activating his sharingan. "I can see them coming. Besides, I'm feeling a little tense, and this is a good chance to work it out."

As he turned back to face the crowd, there was a sudden hush. Then Tadashi, still holding his ankle, said "A bloodline limit", and spat at Sasuke's feet. The crowd fell back a few paces, a quiet murmur running through it. It was an ominous sound, and Sakura felt her skin prickling.

The next moment the mob surged forward, and Sasuke took up a defensive stance. "Quick, Sakura," he snapped. "Get Naruto out of here."

"But –"

"Move!"

There was no time for him to say any more, as the first of the crowd were on him. Sakura snatched one last, hurried glance of him parrying their blows, and turned back to Naruto, throwing one of his arms over her shoulders and dragging him back to his feet. He staggered, and she braced herself as most of his weight fell on her. If she could just get him a little farther, they could duck into a side alley and she could come back to help Sasuke-kun.

There was no point not using chakra any longer – the Mizushimans were about as provoked as they could possibly be – and, with Naruto leaning on her, she sprang away, hurrying through the fog. Behind her, she could hear the sounds of the brawl, and her heart seemed to beat higher in her breast, and faster. Sasuke-kun was fighting at a disadvantage, unable to hurt his opponents, whilst there had been real hatred in their eyes.

As soon as the noise of the fight had faded behind her, she began to cast around for a safe place to leave Naruto to recover. In the thick fog, the warehouses on either side of the road loomed like dark, misshapen shadows, the narrow streets in between them filled with dank cloud. The idea of abandoning Naruto in one of them made her skin crawl, but she hated to leave Sasuke-kun to fend off that mob by himself.

Naruto groaned, and her attention snapped back to him. There was a thin trickle of blood running down from his hair, and his eyes were glazed. He swayed unsteadily, and then, pulling loose from her, he fell forward on his hands and knees, and retched.

Mild concussion, then, she thought, kneeling beside him, one hand on his shoulder. He was going to be woozy for the next thirty or forty minutes, so it was a good thing they were nearly back at the dock. She would have to find that cut on his scalp and inspect it for glass shards, though it had looked as if the bottle had only broken when it hit the ground. Right now, though, the priority was getting Naruto on his feet and somewhere safe. If she remembered the cook's map correctly, this was the worst possible place that he could have collapsed. "A lot of dangerous people," the cook had said, or something to that effect. He should have mentioned the citizens as well, she thought wryly.

She was about to get up when someone seized her by the shoulder. Her first instinct was to reach for her kunai holster on her thigh, but she had left that on the ship. Instead, she twisted and tried for a foot sweep, just as she saw that it was Yamato.

"Slow down, Sakura," he said, blocking her kick. "What's going on and where is Sasuke? I felt you and Sasuke moulding chakra and came as fast as I could. Tell me what happened."

"Taichou!" she exclaimed. "Sasuke-kun is in trouble. He's back there – I had to get Naruto to safety, and Sasuke-kun is buying time for us."

Yamato glanced at Naruto, who had worked his way up to a kneeling position. His face was white, and the whisker markings on his cheeks stood out in stark relief.

"I'm all right," Naruto said, seeing Yamato's look. "Just a little dizzy when I stand."

"You're not all right," said Sakura angrily. "You're concussed. Taichou, please, please go help Sasuke-kun. It's the townsfolk attacking him – they say they don't want any shinobi here."

Yamato nodded. "I know that. My contact said they had news last night of the battle, and the shinobi have withdrawn to the gates to guard against attack from the Akatsuki forces, and to guard themselves from the civilians. A couple of shinobi were caught outside and were lynched."

Sakura's stomach lurched. She'd left Sasuke to fend off that angry mob with no weapons whatsoever. Some of her panic must have shown on her face, for Yamato gave her a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Sakura. Sasuke is a class or more above those ninja," he said. "I'll lend him a hand whilst you get Naruto back to the ship."

"I'm all right," Naruto protested, staggering to his feet. "I don't need to go back to the ship. Let me help Sasuke."

Yamato shook his head. "Right now, Naruto, you're a liability. Go back and let Sakura treat you."

Naruto opened his mouth as though to argue, and then, quite suddenly, shut it again. "All right," he said. "Let's go, Sakura. Sasuke's all yours, Yamato-taichou." He turned and began to walk down the road, back towards the dock.

Relieved, Sakura waited only long enough to see Yamato take off before hurrying after Naruto. Half-expecting him to flash her a mischievous grin and suggest that they sneak back after Yamato, she was a little disconcerted when he kept trudging doggedly down the road, not saying a word to her.

"Naruto?" she asked after a while. "Naruto? You seem … kind of quiet."

He said nothing, just kept on walking. At last, when she thought that he either had not heard her, or simply did not intend to answer, he said, "Isn't it weird that Sasuke hasn't already caught up with us?"

Sakura bit her lip. So he too was worried. "I suppose so," she began, speaking slowly, "but he's probably just gone back a different way and is waiting for us at the ship already."

Naruto glanced at her, and she smiled. "I'm sure that's what he's done," she said brightly, as much to convince herself as him. "After all, they were only civilians."

"Yeah," said Naruto. "He'll probably complain that we're too slow."

"Well, we can tell him that it's his own fault, since we had to send Yamato-taichou back to rescue him."

Naruto grinned. "Because we know exactly what our dear little Uchiha prodigy Sasuke-kins is capable of."

"Sasuke-kins!" Sakura burst into laughter. "Naruto, sometimes you have moments of surprising brilliance."

His grin grew even bigger. "I am Konoha's number one most surprising ninja, you know."

By the time they arrived at the wharf where their junk was moored, they were in high spirits, laughing and teasing each other, fully expecting to see Sasuke brooding on the deck.

"Hey!" Naruto called as he strode up the gangplank. "Sasuke, we're back!"

The ship's captain came hurrying down the deck towards them. "He's not back yet," he said. "But I thought you three left together …" His voice trailed off as he gazed at Naruto, and Sakura realised that he must have seen the bloodstain on the boy's face. "Something happened, didn't it?" he asked. "There've been rumours going around the dock."

Sakura shook her head. "Ask Yamato-taichou when he gets back – he probably knows more than we do. Right now, though, I need to get this idiot into the cabin so I can look at the cut on his head."

x

Yamato returned within a quarter hour – without Sasuke. "There was no sign of him anywhere," he said before Naruto or Sakura could ask. "No crowd either."

Naruto frowned. "What about the tracking seed?"

"It's moving towards the city centre," Yamato said.

"I don't get it," said Naruto slowly. "Why would he go back into the city? He knows we need to leave soon, unless he's forgotten." He glanced over at Sakura, worried, and saw that she was chewing her lip and frowning down at the floor.

"Sasuke-kun wouldn't forget that," she said. "He's always on time."

Yamato cleared his throat, and they looked back at him. "He's either being pursued, but if that were the case I am surprised that he hasn't shaken them off already, or he's been caught and is being taken somewhere by the townsfolk." He paused, face grim. "I'm afraid that I think he's been captured."

A hot pulse of anger went through Naruto, and his hands clenched into fists. If he had been the one to go back, he would not have given up, not until he had come up with them. "Why didn't you track him further?" he asked. "You're supposed to be one of the best in ANBU."

"I was seen," Yamato admitted, shame-faced. "And when I took to the roofs to get away, I discovered that there are townsfolk posted there with crossbows. It's almost impossible for us to move around the town without being seen."

"They're really good at protecting themselves against ninja," said Sakura wonderingly. "I mean, they're just ordinary people, not even villagers from Kirigakure."

"The Water Country suffered greatly at the hands of ninja during its civil wars," Yamato told her. "They had to learn to defend themselves against shinobi."

Naruto groaned in frustration. "While we're talking, Sasuke is getting further and further away," he said. "We can't just let them take him – you said yourself that they've already killed two ninja, taichou."

Yamato nodded. "That's why I came back here. I made a wood clone and have left it to track Sasuke, so we can learn where he is, and then plan how to rescue him. There's only one problem."

"Yes?" Naruto asked quickly. Whatever it was, he would find a way around it. He was not leaving Sasuke behind, no matter what.

Yamato looked from him to Sakura and back again, his expression grave. "The ship must sail within the hour – that's all the time it has been allocated in port here. If we wish to rescue Sasuke, we may very well find ourselves stranded in Mizushima, with no way of getting out, let alone continuing the mission."

There was a moment of silence as his words sank in. From the way Sakura's shoulders raised and her hands drew in towards her breast, Naruto could tell that she was thinking of the mob, remembering their hate and their anger. Even he had to admit that he did not like the idea of being trapped in a city with ninja-lynching, crossbow-wielding civilians, whom he technically should not harm. As for abandoning the mission to save a friend …

The cast of his face altered, his frown changing into a set, determined look. "It's an easy choice, taichou," Naruto said. "Those who do not follow the rules are considered trash, but those who do not care for their comrades are lower than trash. I'm saving Sasuke." Beside him, he heard the quick little hitch in Sakura's breath, and felt her straighten up.

"But how do you suggest we get out of here afterwards?" Yamato asked.

Naruto waved a hand at the rows and rows of boats and ships at anchor in the harbour. "It shouldn't be too hard to sneak on board one of those," he said. "Besides, if the worst comes to the worst and they chase us, Sakura-chan can always tear up the pavement or something to slow them down, right, Sakura-chan?"

He glanced at her for support. Her eyes were bright and she had a resolute expression. "We can do it, Yamato-taichou," she said. "If we use a henge, we can move around Mizushima without being recognised as ninja. We may even be able to walk out the front gate that way. And there are bound to be places along the coastline where we can meet up with the ship again."

Naruto grinned. Trust Sakura-chan to have the brains to come up with a plan that would allow them to save Sasuke and continue the mission. He turned back to Yamato expectantly.

For a long moment, their captain fixed them with a hard gaze, but neither Naruto nor Sakura were backing down. Presently, Yamato nodded. "Very well," he said. "If you're prepared to see this through no matter what, we'll do it."

x

Half an hour later, they were onshore, dressed in plain clothes and transformed into very ordinary-looking people without pink hair or whisker marks, watching the junk cast off. They had fixed a rendezvous point with the captain at a cove twenty miles up the coast. If all went well, they would be there within the next twenty-four hours. In case of unexpected delays, the captain had been told to wait till dawn the following day before sending a messenger bird back to the Alliance headquarters. Yamato had already dispatched one bird with the news of the battle, as well as a private message for Tsunade, telling her what had happened to Sasuke.

As the last of the lines came loose and the small ship moved away from the wharf, Sakura felt the cold touch of uncertainty once more. So many things could go wrong with this plan, and there was no guarantee that they would even find Sasuke-kun alive. The very thought filled her with despair, and she curled her hands into fists, nails digging into her palms till they hurt.

There was a gentle touch on her shoulder, and without looking, she knew it was Naruto. Some of the tension ebbed from her, and her confidence began to return. Together they would do it, and together they would be at the cove to meet their ship.

Across the harbour, the junk slowly passed into the thick fog, fading to no more than a dim shadow, and then not even that. It was gone, and they were alone in Mizushima.

* * *

><p><strong>Possibly interesting notes<strong>

The title of this fic refers to the travel diary _The Narrow Road to the Deep North_ written by Matsuo Bashō, one of the foremost poets of Edo period Japan. The work is considered to be one of the great pieces of Japanese literature.

The fic itself is somewhat AU. Most noticeably in this chapter, it assumes that the events of the first _Naruto_ movie, _Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow_, from which Kazahana Koyuki and the Land of Snow come, did indeed take place, and that Sasuke did not desert Konoha. Further backstory will be revealed as the story progresses.


	2. Jailbreak

Chapter Two

Jailbreak

As soon as the junk faded into the cloud, Naruto picked his haversack up and swung it over one shoulder. "All right!" he said, punching the air. "Let's go!" Radiating determination, he turned to the balding man that was Yamato. "So, where is Sasuke now?"

"Not so fast," Yamato said, and Naruto's face fell. "My wood clone is still tracking him, so until we know where he is going, any rescue attempt is hazardous. Remember, we have to act like civilians if we're going to have any hope of reaching him."

"Yamato-taichou is right, Naruto," Sakura added, and Naruto sighed.

"All right," he said. "So, what do we do now?"

"We'll find a place to wait for my wood clone to report back," said Yamato. "The foreshore will be safest. The townspeople don't often go there."

No, Sakura thought, because the waterfront dives were full of shady and dangerous people – like them. Only it was a pity that Yamato was now middle-aged and losing his hair, Naruto appeared to be an overgrown Inari and she herself was a twelve-year-old girl. With freckles on her nose and her short reddish hair in two pigtails with big red bobbles on the elastics. Sasuke-kun had better appreciate the lengths they were going to for him.

Yamato held out one hand to her. "Come along, Sakura-chan," he said. Sakura was not entirely certain that he was not stifling a grin.

"Nope, she's coming with her big brother," said Naruto, grabbing her wrist. "He's much cooler than Dad."

Sakura stamped on his foot. "Boys have cooties," she said, pulling herself free. "And I'm _twelve_. I don't need to hold anyone's hand."

Yamato shrugged. "As you like," he said. "But if you disobey me, kids, I will have to use my scary face. Understood?"

Both Naruto and Sakura shuddered involuntarily. "Yes, Dad," they chorused.

As she followed her team through the fog, Sakura became aware of two things. First of all, her haversack, now painted pink with yellow trimming and possessed of a pair of small white wings, was too loose around her transformed twelve-year-old shoulders, and second of all, her legs were a whole lot shorter. Keeping up with the quick-striding Naruto was almost impossible, and involved a funny little skip every few paces. She probably should have chosen a different henge – or perhaps she should have packed her old rollerblades.

They continued along the road that led from the docks to the city until they reached the first major crossroads. There Yamato pretended to consult a map whilst waiting for Sakura to catch up before taking the street to his left and leading his team into the fringes of the foreshore.

To Sakura's surprise, the area was not as run-down as she had expected it to be. Instead, at the boundary between the waterfront and the city, there were dozens of small shops flogging souvenirs from Mizushima. At first, they simply window-shopped, wandering from one storefront to the next and pointing out the things that caught their eye, but before long they were going inside and exclaiming over the goods on display: small boxes of sweet _kombu_, bottles of Kasenshiki beer, model boats of all shapes and sizes, postcards of the bay and the hills and the harbour, toy dolphins that squeaked when squeezed, jars of fish roe or mussels in brine, embroidered handkerchiefs, broken-off branches of coral, and much, much more.

Yamato and Naruto kept finding dresses for Sakura to try on, dresses which grew frillier and pinker and increasingly baby-doll like until she began to suspect that they were trying to make her look ridiculous. At which point she behaved like an affronted twelve-year-old girl and protested that she was grown-up and that pink frills were for little girls, completely ignoring her winged pink knapsack.

"All right, Sakura-chan," said Yamato soothingly. "Pick anything you want and Dad will get it for you."

Sakura levelled an evil look at Naruto, who was trying, and failing, to pretend his laughter was merely a very bad coughing fit, and then turned back to Yamato. "Anything, Dad?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Anything," he said.

"Oh, thank you, Dad!" she exclaimed brightly, and bounced over to a collection of small green dolls that she assumed were supposed to be bag charms. "One of these?" she asked, and was mildly surprised by Yamato and the shopkeeper's look of horror.

"No, no," said the shopkeeper, bustling over and snatching the doll from her. "Wouldn't a cute little girl like you prefer a charm like – like _this_ one?" he said, dropping a set of interlinked hearts in her hand.

Sakura shook her head. "No," she said. "It's cute, but I like the other one better. Can I have it, please, Dad?"

Naruto snorted with laughter. "You promised her, Dad," he said, and Yamato and the shopkeeper both glared at him.

"Are you sure there isn't anything else you like, Sakura-chan?" Yamato asked desperately.

"No, nothing," said Sakura. "I want the green doll bag charm. It's got a cute smiley face."

Yamato and the shopkeeper exchanged a helpless look. "Well, if that's what you want," Yamato said slowly, and very reluctantly he drew out his wallet and paid for the charm.

As soon as the doll was hers, Sakura grabbed it and clipped it onto her knapsack, thanking Yamato as she did so. Then she danced out of the shop, followed by Naruto and Yamato. "I don't see what all the fuss was about," she said gaily, spinning around on her tiptoes. "It's just a green doll with a smiley face."

Naruto gave a cough that sounded suspiciously like a choked-back laugh. "A green Ero-sennin," he said. "There's a reason he's grinning like that."

Sakura stopped spinning quite abruptly and swung her knapsack off her shoulders, bringing it round to the front where she could inspect the doll more closely. Yes, he was an attractive shade of green, and yes, he had a happy smiley face, but, as she belatedly saw, he also had a very definite bulge in his pants.

"What the _hell_ is this?" she shrieked, and Naruto burst out laughing.

Yamato sighed. "I tried to warn you," he said. "I hope you're still happy with it, Sakura-chan."

For a moment, Sakura toyed with the idea of throwing the _object_ as far away as she possibly could and then washing her hands very thoroughly. What sort of tourist shop sold _things_ like that where little girls could buy them? Then she thought about the way Ino had been at twelve, and assumed what she hoped was a defiant expression, though she feared that there was still a strong element of revulsion in it. "He's _my_ smiley green doll," she said, swinging her knapsack back onto her shoulders, "and I think he's cute."

Yamato looked as though he were about to say something, and then his expression changed, going quickly from surprise to intense concentration. It was his listening face, Sakura realised, and her stomach suddenly full of butterflies, she began to fiddle with her pigtails, waiting to hear what Yamato had to say about Sasuke. He must be all right, she thought, trailing after Yamato. If they found him and he was terribly injured, too badly injured for her to heal – or if his curse mark was playing up again –

Her mind shied away from the thought. She was being ridiculous. After all, she was the pupil of the famous Tsunade herself, who had succeeded with Lee's near-impossible surgery, and protected the whole of Konoha when Pain had flattened it mere months before. No matter what wounds Sasuke-kun had, she could heal him, though if it were the curse mark, she could do very little beyond relieving the pain. Even Tsunade-shishou had been unable to find a way of removing it, so that Kakashi-sensei's protective seal was sometimes the only thing keeping Sasuke-kun from being taken over by the mark.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by Naruto ruffling her hair, and whilst she had been a stubborn twelve-year-old about the Little Green Thing she was still a twelve-year-old who liked pink and had a backpack with white wings and wore her hair in two pigtails with large red bobbles on the elastics, so she smiled gratefully up at him. Until he tweaked her nose.

Yamato's cough interrupted the rapidly escalating sibling warfare, and both Naruto and Sakura jerked round to face him, eager to hear what he had to say.

"They've locked him inside the town hall," he said quietly. "He's still unconscious, but doesn't look too badly battered."

"What are they going to do with him?" Naruto asked.

Yamato shook his head. "This is not the best place to discuss it," he said. "Let's pick up some lunch and find somewhere quiet to eat it."

A trip to a small stall selling yakitori and a few directions asked of the proprietor found them in a quieter road, sitting on a bench and munching grilled chicken on bamboo skewers whilst Yamato outlined a plan to break Sasuke out.

"There are two guards on the roof, with crossbows, and one at each door. We'll see if we can get admission as tourists, rather than attempting to force an entry. Once inside, I can locate Sasuke using the seed he swallowed, and then with a wood clone I shall make a tunnel for Sasuke to escape by."

Sakura and Naruto nodded. "And then we meet up with him, Sasuke transforms himself as well, and all four of us can walk out the gate."

"That is the plan," said Yamato, and dropped a bamboo skewer picked clean of meat into bottom of the little cardboard carton. "So, Sakura-chan, Inari-kun, let us see some more of the city's sights. I hear the town hall is a very attractive building."

He had heard right. Situated on the top of one of the city's hills, it was an impressive building, in the _giyōfū_ style, three stories high, with blue slate tiles on the gabled roof and windows with red and white painted shutters. Flowerboxes bright with petunias lined the ground floor windows. An octagonal tower rose from the roof into the floating curls of cloud, and pacing back and forth on its balcony were two men with crossbows. Another guard stood in the shelter of the porch, dragging on a cigarette. As they approached, he straightened up, but it was plain that he considered them no threat. There were things to be said for pigtails after all, Sakura thought.

"Hello," said Yamato, smiling pleasantly. "How much do admission tickets cost?"

"They're not available today," said the guard. "There's council business in here today."

Sakura put on her best mournful face, but the guard shook his head. "Come back tomorrow," he said.

The thought passed through Sakura's mind that they might have to force an entry after all, but Yamato nodded understandingly. "Very well," he said, turning to go. "Come on, Sakura-chan, Inari-kun. We'll be back tomorrow."

Reluctantly, Sakura and Naruto trailed after him. So close to Sasuke, but so far! Sakura wondered briefly what the council business might be, hoping against hope that it had nothing to do with Sasuke, and if it did, that it had not yet begun. Beside her, she could tell that Naruto was struggling to suppress his frustration, his eyes bright with anger.

Across the square from the town hall was a small park, with landscaped streams that ran over artificial waterfalls and bamboo thickets that snaked along the side of the hill, as well as a grove of small pine trees. It was in the pines that they had met up with the tracking wood clone before approaching the town hall, and now it was to them that they returned.

No sooner than they had reached the cover of the pines than Naruto rounded on Yamato. "Why did we retreat?" he asked angrily. "One guard wouldn't have been any trouble at all – we could have broken in!"

"That's exactly what we are going to do," Yamato said, making a series of seals. "But the guard has a radio, and could have alerted the others before we had a chance to knock him out, so we'll go through the floor." He dropped to his knees, slapping one palm against the ground.

Sakura stepped back as the earth crumbled and fell away into a long dark tunnel. "Sneaking in," she said with a grin. "We could even surface beneath Sasuke-kun to give him a surprise."

Yamato smiled. "I'll go first. Sakura, you follow me, and Naruto, you bring up the rear. Once in the tunnel, we can drop the transformation jutsu – there's not much point in the disguises until we're out of the building again. Got it?"

Naruto and Sakura nodded.

"Good," said Yamato. "Follow me when I give the signal." He dropped into the tunnel, and they heard the slither of soil as he slipped and slid down into the dark. A moment later he gave a low whistle, and one after the other Sakura and Naruto jumped into the hole in the ground.

One of the things Sakura had learned in the year since Yamato had first been appointed relief captain for Team Seven was that soil came in many different kinds. Some soils were hard and clayey, and made for excellent tunnels with firm-packed floors and walls. Others were loamy and left streaks of dirt on clothes that took a great deal of vigorous scrubbing to wash out. Some were rocky and gravely, some were filled with fragments of sparkling quartz, and others with tree roots. Each tunnel was different, with its own character. The one they had dug to infiltrate Orochimaru's hideout on their first mission with Sai (he was not dead, she told herself; he could not be dead) had been stony, twisting and turning around great slabs of rock, whilst this one was turning out to be sandy and prone to showering them with falls of dirt from above. Her hair was going to need a very good wash after this.

And there was one thing that all tunnels had in common. They were uncomfortable and cramped. Very cramped. And sometimes, like this one, they had tree roots sticking down from above, through which they had to make their way, crouching and crawling. And the longer they got, the warmer and more stifling they invariably became as less and less of the fresh air from outside wafted down the tunnel.

At last, Yamato came to a stop, gazing upwards as though his eyes would pierce the mass of earth above them and see clear through the foundations and floors and walls to where Sasuke was. Sakura crouched quietly behind him, feeling hot and sweaty and grubby. One of Naruto's feet was digging into the small of her back, but each time she moved to get comfortable, a sprinkling of sandy soil fell from the roof. The idea of a cave-in down here in the dark made her heart race and her stomach twist, even though she knew that Yamato should be able to dig them all out.

Before long, Yamato began to tunnel again, this time working upwards, until he reached stone foundations. Sakura half-expected Naruto to suggest that he smash through it with his rasengan, but he said nothing and waited patiently behind her whilst Yamato used his mokuton to slowly force the stones to split.

With a slither and a clatter of rubble, Yamato drew his hand back, and a rush of fresh air hit Sakura in the face, turning the sweat on her brow cold. She hung back as Yamato drew his mirror from a pouch in his vest and used it to check if the coast were clear.

"Sai and his mice would be handy right now," Naruto murmured in her ear, and she nodded.

Yamato motioned to them, and in a matter of seconds the three shinobi were out of the tunnel, back to back and looking all around. They were in an empty office, with a desk in one corner and shelves filled with files and books on most of the walls. The window looked out onto the square outside the town hall and the park opposite. Sakura felt a flush of relief. They were inside after all. Now to find Sasuke-kun before they were discovered.

"All right," Yamato said, jumping onto the desk. "Sasuke is somewhere above us. I am going to make a spyhole in the ceiling. Naruto, Sakura, keep a guard on the door and the window." Even as he spoke, a tree branch began to grow from the desk, carrying him up to the ceiling.

Waiting at the door, chakra circulating through her fists and feet, Sakura glanced at Naruto. He was standing at the window, eyebrows drawn together, his mouth set in a determined line, and Sakura found herself thinking, as she had so often over the last few months, that he had some new, indefinable quality to him. Quite what it was eluded her each time she noticed it, but there was something there that had not been there before, something –

"All clear," said Yamato quietly, breaking into her thoughts. "I'm going through. You two follow, in the same order as before."

One floor up, they emerged into a deserted boardroom dominated by the long polished table in the middle of the floor. Yamato moved to the door. "He's on this floor," he said. "In fact, he's very close by."

With one hand on the doorknob, he paused, and Sakura and Naruto, straining their ears, heard the muffled sound of voices and feet tramping outside the room. Their stances shifted, and they stood poised to move in any direction as the voices came closer and then stopped outside the door.

"So, is this where he is?" asked one. A young woman.

"Yes, in here."

Sakura's heart skipped a beat and then started pounding again in a flurry. Sasuke-kun must be in the next room! Out of the corner of her eye she could see Naruto prick up his ears and listen intently.

"Do you want to see him?"

"Yes, I do. I need to make sure that he is an Uchiha after all."

There was the noise of a door opening.

"You have a visitor, shinobi. Up you get."

A moment's silence.

"What's that on his shoulder? A bruise?"

"Looks like it. He resisted pretty hard when Tadashi and his boys arrested him, so they had to get a bit rough with him."

"I see."

At the mention of Tadashi, Sakura felt her stomach lurch. So it had been a trap, and from the sounds of things a trap set for Sasuke-kun in particular. Her hands coiled into fists, nails biting into her palms. If she saw Tadashi again, she'd punch him right through the nearest wall.

Dimly, she heard the thud of the door closing again and the snick of the key in the lock.

"He is definitely an Uchiha," came the first voice again. "I shall need him sedated to move him."

The footsteps started up again. "We'll have a nurse brought over here from the hospital," the other replied.

"Good. I'd like it done within the hour."

The voices and the footsteps receded, and the three in the boardroom let out a collective breath. Sakura realised she was shaking from mingled tension and excitement.

Yamato looked from her to Naruto and then nodded towards the door. Swiftly, she and Naruto took up their positions alongside the door, ready to move out. As soon as they were in place, Yamato slipped his finger into the keyhole, and a moment later the door swung slowly open.

"All clear," said Yamato, and stepped out into the corridor, Sakura and Naruto following.

The passageway was long, lit by electric lights, with doors leading off it on either side. They knew, though, that Sasuke must be in one of the rooms close at hand, and directly opposite the boardroom was a firmly shut door with the sign "Photocopy Room" fixed to it. Yamato unlocked it and eased it open quietly.

It was a small, windowless room, and most of the space was taken up by the photocopier, but in one corner, head bowed, hand pressed to his left shoulder, Sasuke was sitting. Sakura had to bite back a cry of joy when she saw him.

"Hey, Sasuke," said Naruto, grinning, and at the sound of his teammate's voice, Sasuke looked up, relief spreading across his face.

"Hn," he said.

"All right," said Yamato briskly. "We need to work fast. Can you stand, Sasuke?"

"Yes," he said, and rose to his feet, still clasping his shoulder. His face was pale, and there were bruises on his arms and cheeks. Sakura frowned. Despite the dim light of the little room, she could see the perspiration on his brow and the pained set of his mouth.

"Sasuke-kun," she said, "I need to look at your shoulder. It won't take long, just while Yamato-taichou explains the plan. And it's easiest for me if you sit."

There was the faintest light of gratitude in Sasuke's eyes as he sank back to the floor, still holding his left shoulder. Kneeling beside him, Sakura ran her hands over his limbs and torso, noting each time he winced. Mostly bruises, she observed, but there was a fractured rib and some other internal damage, which she should heal before they moved him – and from the way he was holding that shoulder, she was almost certain that the cursed seal had flared up again.

"Yamato-taichou," she said, looking up, "I'm going to have to do some basic healing before Sasuke-kun can move. It shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

"I'm all right," Sasuke wheezed. "I can move."

"You have a broken rib," she snapped, "and I _need to see your shoulder_." Sasuke glared at her, but she refused to be intimidated and turned back to their captain. "Yamato-taichou?"

Yamato frowned. "Very well," he said, "but make it fast. We don't have much time. Naruto, you and I will keep watch."

Sakura turned her attention back to Sasuke, making the seals for the shosen jutsu. "I'll get that rib sorted out first," she said, "and then I'll do what I can for your shoulder. It's the cursed seal, right?"

He looked away from her. "Yes," he said. "It flared up all of a sudden, and whilst it was burning like fire, one of that crowd dropped me. It's been throbbing ever since." He let go his shoulder, and Sakura gasped.

The cursed seal was pulsing, the little tomoes vibrating and trying to creep out from Kakashi's fuuja houin. The mark was red and angry, stark against Sasuke's pale skin.

"Oh my," she breathed. "It hasn't been this bad for a while."

He shook his head. "It's taking up most of my chakra to hold it back," he said.

Sakura drew a deep breath in. Rib first, she reminded herself. Once Sasuke-kun's other injuries were healed, he might be able to find the strength to suppress the seal – though the last time it had been so bad, Tsunade-shishou had been the one to deal with it.

Holding her hands over Sasuke's side, chakra seeping into his body, Sakura could feel the bone slowly starting to knit and fuse. Medical jutsu, she had learned, were in their own way almost as intimate as the Yamanaka clan's mind-reading techniques. She could feel every organ, every bone, every ligament and tendon. She could sense the creaking of Sasuke's injured rib as it rose and fell with each breath, and almost hear the _lub-dup_, _lub-dup_ of his beating heart. She was keenly aware of his body, her consciousness suffused with the physical sensations flowing from the mist of green chakra into her palms. When she felt Sasuke breathing easier, she let her chakra move deeper, healing his internal injuries one after another. At last, she dispelled the technique and sank back on her heels, preparing herself to face the livid, pulsating mark on his neck.

"How much longer, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked from the doorway.

"His seal is bad," she said. "I'm going to try to relieve some of the pain, and then we can go."

"Make it quick," Yamato said, stepping into the room and fixing Sakura with a stern look. "We don't know when they'll return, and we've already been here longer than is safe."

"I'll be all right," Sasuke said, getting to his feet. "It's already feeling better."

"No, it isn't," Sakura said fiercely, prying his fingers away from the seal. "It's red and ugly and _moving_. You won't get very far with it in this condition."

For a moment, Sasuke looked as though he might strike her hand away, but before he could, Naruto crowded into the small room. "Just listen to Sakura-chan," he said. "She knows what she's doing, and you know it. And you know that you're useless with the seal like that – you were in the hospital for three days the last time it flared up."

Sasuke opened his mouth to argue, but Sakura stepped between her two teammates. "There isn't time for this," she said. "Sasuke-kun, let me at least try to ease the pain."

There was the sudden sound of a door banging open, and all four shinobi stiffened, glancing towards the doorway. "They're after the prisoner!" a voice called, and in an instant, the doorway was filled with angry faces. At the front of the group were two guards wielding crossbows.

Naruto's response was instantaneous. In a heartbeat of time, orange markings appeared around his eyes, and he went from perfectly still to seizing the photocopy machine and hurling it out the door. The men scrambled to get out of the way before it crushed them, though one of the guards managed to fire a bolt which buried itself in the wall above Sasuke's head. Before he had time to reload, however, the floorboards began to buckle and surge, as though they had come to life, and he reeled backwards, unbalanced, as a tree unfolded itself from the floor. Seizing her chance, Sakura smashed a hole in the wall, and dived through it amongst the falling rubble and splinters, landing at the feet of several startled councillors in a room which appeared to have taken the photocopy cell's share of windows. She glanced back to see that the tree had grown big enough to shut off the door and was now starting to buckle the frame, thrusting branches into the small room. Sasuke and Naruto hurled themselves through the hole, followed by Yamato.

"I'm very sorry to have to do this," said Yamato to the councillors as he drew four shuriken from his thigh holster. One of the female councillors gave a blood-curdling scream, and the glass panes in one of the windows cracked and crazed. For a moment, Sakura thought that her voice had done that, but then she saw Yamato's shuriken embedded in the pane. Still in sage mode, Naruto took a running jump, diving through the window so that the broken glass smashed outwards, carrying the shuriken with it. The rest of his team followed, Yamato making the tiger and snake seals as he plunged into the fog.

They had fallen only a few feet when a row of trees erupted from the wall of the building, and they landed safely amongst the branches. Sakura, glancing up to see what the guards on the rooftop were doing, noticed that the tree that had grown to block the photocopy room had erupted through the roof, shearing off the back half of the octagonal tower. Clinging to the upper branches were several figures, all of them yelling frantically.

There was a sudden thunk, and she looked down to see a crossbow bolt driven into the tree trunk at her feet. Glancing up she saw a guard leaning out the broken window, rewinding his crossbow for a second shot.

"What are you doing, Sakura-chan?" Naruto shouted. "Come on, jump down! Get below cover!"

"Coming!" she said, and jumped.

"We need a diversion, to draw their fire," said Yamato. "They'll be waiting for us to emerge from here."

Naruto grinned. "That's not a problem," he said. "Taijuu kagebunshin no jutsu!"

Several hundred shadow clones exploded into being all around him, packing the shelter of the trees with a solid orange mass. Before Sakura could open her mouth to congratulate Naruto on his brilliant idea, more than half of them yelled "Henge!", and as the smoke cleared, she saw multiple copies of Team Seven all around.

"All right then!" Naruto exclaimed. "Diversion created!"

"Naruto!" Sakura said. "That's perfect!"

"Of course it is," Naruto grinned. "What else do you expect from Konoha's Orange Hokage?"

"Not bad for a total moron," said Sasuke. He paused, and looked more closely at Sakura's backpack. "Sakura, why do you have a doll like that on your satchel?"

Sakura flushed red. "It was part of my disguise," she said. "It was necessary."

Sasuke looked from the little green man with his happy leer to the pink backpack with its little white wings to Sakura's burning cheeks and back to the little green man once again, but said no more.

Yamato cleared his throat, and their attention snapped back to him. "Time to move out," he said. "We'll make for the gates. The shadow clones are to disperse all round the city. Got that?"

They nodded.

"All right then. Scatter!"

Within seconds, the space under the trees was empty once more, whilst more than half a hundred Team Sevens raced off in as many directions through the fog, confounding the town hall guards just long enough for them to get out of accurate bowshot range. When the bolts started falling, few of them hit their targets, and those that did landed in the backs of the shadow clones, which burst.

As she followed Yamato over several fences and across backyards, their progress marked by shouting people and barking dogs, Sakura kept an eye on Sasuke. The cursed seal was no longer red and writhing within the confines of the fuuja houin, but he was pale-faced and sweating, and his jaw was clenched. He stumbled once, but caught himself and kept on running, dogged and silent.

As soon as they had put enough distance between themselves and any possible pursuit, Yamato stopped in a blind alley that ran behind a large apartment block. The walls were covered with graffiti, and refuse bags were heaped at the far end, some of them torn and spilling their contents into the street. It was unlikely that anyone would come down here in the fog.

No sooner had they stopped than Sasuke dropped to his knees, panting desperately. Sakura was at his side in an instant, Naruto close behind her.

"You push yourself too hard," she said to Sasuke, feeling his side and torso. To her relief, the newly healed rib still held, though he winced several times under her poking and prodding.

"I'll be fine," he said between gasps. "We have to get out of here and find the division. My brother –" He paused, clutching at his shoulder and grimacing.

"Your brother?" said Naruto sharply. "Itachi was on the island?"

Sasuke nodded. Sakura felt suddenly sick to the pit of her stomach, and her hands fell away from Sasuke, limp and nerveless. No wonder he had blanched when Tadashi had told them about the Akatsuki attack. That was why he had taken the mob on all by himself. He always dealt with anger and unhappiness by fighting – if Itachi were truly dead – Sai as well … Her hands started to shake.

As she sat stunned at his side, Sasuke tried to get up. His legs gave out from under him halfway, and he would have fallen, had Naruto not caught him by the arm.

Sakura felt some of the tension leave her as she watched Naruto help Sasuke up. If anyone could manage Sasuke, it was Naruto. The two of them fought all the time, each constantly trying to outdo the other until her teeth were on edge and she had to fight the impulse to pummel both of them into the ground. But, for all their ridiculous rivalry, they made an excellent team and they understood each other in a way that she could not. Sometimes Sakura felt like she was completely unnecessary, the weak and useless girl whose only attribute was her big brain inside her bulging forehead. All she could do for her boys were trivial things, and as she watched Sasuke leaning on Naruto, she felt a pang of inadequacy. She needed to find a way to suppress that curse mark, or remove it altogether; she should be able to do more than just ease the pain.

"Sasuke," said Yamato, "do you have any chakra spare to transform yourself?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No," he said. "Everything I've got is holding back the seal."

Yamato frowned. "I'd hoped that we could walk out the front gate in disguise," he said, "but if you're low on chakra, we'll have to sneak out. With any luck, the gate guards will not be expecting us."

"Now they will," came a voice from further down the alley, and the shinobi turned to see Tadashi standing below the apartment block, his hands behind his back.

"You again!" Naruto exclaimed. "How did you get here?"

Tadashi gave them one of his pleasant smiles, and Sakura felt her hackles rise. "I live in this apartment," he said. "And just as I was radioed that the prisoner had escaped, I saw you running along the alley from my window. I've already let the town hall know, and the guards are on their way. It's over for you, shinobi."

Sakura laughed. She always liked the gloaters – they wasted time savouring their triumph. "You can't keep us here," she said, concentrating chakra in her feet and her fists. "We'll be long gone by the time they arrive."

Tadashi's smile broadened. "Would you care to take your chances with a crossbow?" he asked, and brought one out, ready-loaded, from behind his back. "Even if you can dodge it, can the bloodline limit ninja? He looks pretty beat up to me."

The next moment, Sakura's fist connected with his jaw, and he went flying back into the apartment wall, the crossbow falling from his hand as he slammed into the bricks. The bolt shot off, disappearing into the fog. Before he had time to recover, she had grabbed him by the shirt, and hauled him up against the wall. "Tell me," she growled, stamping on the crossbow and grinding it to splinters with her heel. "why did you take Sasuke-kun prisoner? Who is the man who wants to take him away?"

Tadashi stared at her, wide-eyed and terrified. "The councillors told us that a Snow Country ship would be putting into port soon and that it would have an Uchiha on it. We were supposed to take him alive."

"Who told them?" she asked.

"I don't know, I don't know! I only receive orders from the council!"

Sakura realised that was all she was likely to get from him for the moment. They did not have the time to linger in the alley to find out more – the guards would get here fairly soon – and it certainly was not safe for them to turn their backs on Tadashi, whether or not the crossbow was destroyed. Only one thing for it then.

Releasing Tadashi, she flicked through the seals for the shosen jutsu, and then tapped him with her palm, sending a surge of chakra through his body that knocked him out. As his eyes rolled back in his head and his knees buckled, she caught him and lowered him to the ground, leaving him slumped against the wall. He would not wake for a while, nor would anybody except another med nin be able to wake him.

"Good work, Sakura," said Yamato. "Now, let's get to the gate."

With the aid of the refuse bags, they scaled the wall and dropped down on the other side, melting into the fog. Keeping to the side streets and back alleys as much as possible, they made their way down towards the gate. They had not gone far when a group of Naruto's transformed kagebunshin hurtled past them as they crouched behind rubbish bins at the mouth of an alley, a party of guards in hot pursuit. They passed so close that it seemed to Sakura that they would surely notice them, but the cloud was thickening, making the visibility poorer. Sakura had never been so grateful for fog before.

It did not take them long to reach the gate. Two guards were on duty, peering nervously all around.

"Sakura and I can handle this," Sasuke said, slipping his arm from Naruto's shoulders. "No, shut up, Naruto, you're no good at genjutsu and all your techniques are showy."

"I was going to use the oiroke no jutsu," said Naruto. "It would have had the same effect."

"When you two are quite done squabbling," Sakura said ominously, and Naruto gave her his biggest, most appeasing smile.

"Go ahead, Sakura-chan," he said. "I know you'll do it brilliantly, even if Sasuke messes it all up." Confronted with her death glare, he trailed off into silence.

"Come on, you three," called Yamato, and they turned to see him standing in the gateway, the guards slumped on the ground beside him.

"Sasuke, you're so slow," Naruto said.

"It's all your fault," Sasuke muttered. "You wouldn't stop arguing."

"You started it."

"Hn."

"Yes, you did."

Just as Sakura decided that the quickest way to solve the quarrel would be to wallop Naruto on the head, Yamato loomed over them, and a shudder of horror went through the three young shinobi at the sight of his rule-by-fear face. "Come on," he said, and in the twinkling of an eye, Team Seven was out the gate and halfway down the road, making haste to put Mizushima behind them.

* * *

><p><strong>Notes of potential interest<strong>

I assume that the map of the Naruto world is oriented with west at the top and north to the right as this handily explains the desert state of the Wind Country and the snowy state of Haku's birthplace somewhere in the Water Country. As a result, I have based the climate, ecology and regional specialities of the Water Country very loosely on that of Hokkaido in northern Japan. For example, the Kasenshiki beer corresponds to Sapporo beer, and Sakura's little green doll is a _marimokkori_, a sort of humanoid algae ball (_marimo_) with an erection (_mokkori_). However, the town hall is modelled on the Kaichi School Museum, which is in Honshu, not Hokkaido. The _giyōfū _style of architecture is a blend of Japanese and Western elements.

And Sakura's disguise is a shout-out to Kinomoto Sakura of _Cardcaptor Sakura_ fame.


	3. In The Woods

Next chapter is up! Updates are going to slow down a bit now that the holidays are over and I'm back at university. Alas.

Thanks muchly to everyone who has added this story to their favourites or alert list, as well as to shadow rose2717 and CherryBlossomsArePink for their encouraging reviews. I'm really happy that people like this fic and want to keep reading it! And, of course, thanks are always due to my beta, Just Subliminal, for reading and re-reading and reviewing.

* * *

><p>Chapter Three<p>

In The Woods

Naruto toiled up the steep slope, hands on his thighs as he hastened upwards. The fog had burned off these inland hills, and the sun rode high in the sky, warming his blood after the hours spent in the clouds below. He was feeling good. Sasuke was safe, they were out of the city and on their way to their rendezvous with the junk. In just a few days, they would be in the Snow Country where they would see Koyuki again. The only problem was the fact that the Allied division on the island had been overrun by Akatsuki, and the idea of leaving the Water Country to fall into the hands of Uchiha Madara rankled.

He crested the hill, and stopped to catch his breath, gazing in all directions. To his right, the hills dropped away to the sea, where the last retreating wisps of cloud lay. Straight ahead, the road from Mizushima continued north-east into the hills for several miles, and then bent almost due north, following the contour of the fog-shrouded bay. He could trace its course, a pale ribbon against the sere autumn landscape, as it wound around the shoulders and flanks of the hills. Further inland, the hills were dark with trees. Beyond them, a thick grey haze hung over the land. When he breathed in deeply, he smelled the taint of smoke.

That must be Kirigakure, he thought, or whatever's left of it. Sakura-chan says that Sai was one of the ANBU on the island, and there was Sasuke's brother too. They'd better be all right. Sai is pretty damn good, and Itachi – yes, Itachi is probably fine – he's a genius on the battlefield. They'll be all right, if anybody is. Still, the division was overrun by Akatsuki, and Sasuke said that in the big battle Madara approached him and Itachi. He wants them as much as he wants the Kyuubi. Why?

He glanced back at his teammates still climbing up the road, Sakura in the lead. Her cheeks were flushed and she was puffing a little on the last steep pitch, but her eyes were bright. She waved, then cupped her hands round her mouth and called up to him. "Naruto! Wait for us!"

He waved back, grinning, then turned and looked again at the smoke haze to the north. In his mind, he could picture the hidden village – the buildings charred and crumbled – gaping holes torn in walls – the bodies of shinobi lying in the streets and on the rooftops, or caught under fallen rubble – The pictures flashed before his eyes, vivid, clear, needing no effort of the imagination on his part. He had seen it twice before.

Sakura arrived huffing and puffing beside him, rousing him from his thoughts. "Well," she said, "that was quite a climb, but what a view. Look at the sea! It sparkles in the sun!"

Sasuke and Yamato joined them, moving up to flank Naruto and Sakura.

"Is that smoke to the north?" Sasuke asked, following Naruto's line of sight. He was frowning slightly and there was an edge to his voice.

"Yes," said Naruto. "It's Kirigakure. Taichou, I want to head over to the village to see what I can do." His voice was firm, authoritative.

Yamato shook his head. "I can't let you do that, Naruto, not without more backup. You are Akatsuki's main target, after all."

"What about the remnants of the Allied division?" Sasuke asked. "If we can find them and marshal them, we should have enough support to launch an attack and retake the village."

Yamato shook his head. "They'll be wounded and demoralised," he said. "They won't be in any fit state to counter-attack."

"That's exactly why we need to go there," said Sakura. "They need reinforcements, and the wounded need to be treated."

"There are med-nin attached to the division – they'll be seeing to the wounded."

"If the transforming soldiers were there, then one of their first targets will have been the medics," Sakura pointed out. "They kept trying to kill Shizune-san in the big battle. There may not be anyone left to heal the wounded."

"If the white Zetsu soldiers have been transforming into our allies, it's too dangerous to risk meeting up with the survivors of the division," Yamato said. "I know you can detect the fakes, Naruto, but what if there are other Akatsuki members there? Like the bomber who kidnapped the Kazekage."

Sakura bit her lip. "That's true," she said slowly. "He _is_ pretty dangerous, with his long-range explosives."

Naruto grinned. "You're forgetting that I have long-range techniques now as well," he said. "Anyway, Sasuke could probably genjutsu him in less than a second." He turned back to Yamato, serious once more. "Taichou, we should go to Kirigakure and find what's left of the army. If I can weed out the fakes from the survivors, it'll stop them from getting back to HQ and doing even more harm there."

Yamato frowned. "I don't like it," he said, and Naruto and Sasuke's faces took on an obstinate look. "I don't like it," he said again, "but you're right. However, we have to make our rendezvous with the junk first, to let the captain know our plans. Otherwise, we run the risk of being stranded here – _and no shinobi can run on water all the way back to the mainland_," he added, fixing Naruto with a stern eye.

Naruto considered debating that point, but decided against it. After all, Yamato was not often so willing to allow him independent action, and generosity such as this should not be taken lightly.

Yamato squinted up at the sun. "I'd say that we have four hours of daylight left at most," he said. "If we want to make our rendezvous with the junk, we need to reach the cove by noon the day after tomorrow at the latest. It's twenty miles from Mizushima by boat, but as we have to detour around the bay, we'll be travelling rather further. We'll also need to keep a very sharp watch for the enemy, as we're heading towards Kirigakure."

The young shinobi nodded, their faces solemn. Even Naruto felt a certain amount of trepidation at the thought of going quite deliberately into country now controlled by an enemy army. The morning seemed so very far away now, it was hard to believe that his biggest concern had been whether it was safe to breakfast with Sakura or not.

"All right," said Yamato briskly. "We'll continue on the road until we reach the forest, when we can cut directly across country to the cove."

They set off again, following the road as it dropped down the side of the hill. A light breeze had picked up, and all around them the grass bent, rippled and swayed upright again with a gentle hissing sound. Clusters of white everlastings were scattered along the margins of the road, like early snowflakes dusting the ground. High overhead, no more than a little dark speck against the blue sky, a skylark was singing, pouring out its heart in a liquid cascade of notes.

"Skylark sings all day," Sakura murmured, "and day not long enough."

No, Naruto thought, stealing a covert, sidelong glance at her as they walked, it never is. Maybe when the war is over – maybe when we're back in Konoha – except there's Sasuke, always Sasuke –

Just thinking about Sakura and Sasuke made him feel hot all over, and he quickly pushed it from his mind.

Now that they were out of the fog and toiling up and down the rolling hills, they were soon warm, and grateful for the breeze blowing in from the sea. Once, the road dropped down from the heights, into a narrow river valley, where trees and moisture-loving ferns and mosses grew. Banks of loosestrife fringed the river, their leaves flushed red from the effort of turning the flowers of the summer past to seed, and willows reached down their roots to the water. A heron stood amongst the sedge, patiently watching for fish seeking shelter from the current. In the middle of the river, an otter lay like a smooth brown stone on a jutting rock. The river itself was broad, its waters brown with sediment they had collected on their journey from the high hills down to the bay.

The road did not descend to the wet valley floor, but instead ran along the side of the valley for a mile or so, carved out of the face of the cliffs above. Upstream, the river narrowed, passing through a gorge full of rocks and foam. A low wooden bridge was slung across it.

"A bit rickety, but all right," said Yamato. "Watch your step, though." He stepped onto the bridge, Sakura following. The two boys brought up the rear.

The wooden planks were waterlogged from the spray rising from the gorge, and several of them were quite soft, the dark outer surface flaking off in chips and revealing the rich crumbling red interior. Halfway across, Naruto trod on a deceptively firm looking board, and his foot broke right through it. The next instant, the entire plank gave way, and he pitched headfirst after it with a startled yell.

Sakura and Yamato swung around, but Sasuke had already shot forward and grabbed Naruto by one leg. "Get a hold of yourself, idiot," he grunted, lying on his stomach on the wet planks, Naruto dangling freely beneath him.

"Yeah, yeah, thanks for the save," Naruto said, glowering up at him, his face red from all the blood that had rushed to it as he hung upside down. "I'm coming up now."

He glanced down at the river once more, and then checked. What was that on the rock? It was huddled there, like it had been swept up against it by the current – driftwood – no, not wood –

"Sasuke," he called up, "let go. There's something that I want to see down there."

"Are you mad, Naruto?" Sakura asked, looking over the side of the bridge. "It's a long way down, and the river is flowing fast over rocks."

"Sasuke," said Naruto again.

"Hn." He let go, and Naruto dropped like a stone.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled in mingled shock and anger.

"He asked me to," Sasuke said, picking himself up. He hopped lightly across the gap in the planks. "If he breaks his neck, it'll be his own fault."

Yamato sighed.

In the gorge below them, Naruto was standing on the foaming surface of the river, staring at the shape caught on the rock. It was not driftwood.

Slowly, he walked towards the huddled mass, and finally knelt down beside it. It was, as he had thought, a shinobi from the Allied division that Akatsuki had wiped out. A girl, he realised, her long fair hair streaming out like waterweed in the current. Her eyes were still open, staring, but the patina of death was on them. Gently, he closed her lids, and then hauled her out of the water. Her head lolled at an unnatural angle.

She was heavy from the weight of the water in her clothes, and her body stiff, but he carried her back up the further side of the gorge, leaping from foothold to foothold. He scrambled over the lip of the rocks, puffing a little from the exertion, and laid the girl's body down on the grass.

"Naruto! Are you all right?"

He turned to see Sakura running towards him. "Yes, I'm fine," he replied.

"What were you thinking of, you idiot, just dropping off like that?" she asked fiercely, but her eyes were dark with worry. "Don't be so reckl– oh …" She trailed off, looking down at the girl.

"She's already dead, Sakura-chan," he said as she knelt down. "I just thought we should bury her."

Sakura looked up at him, then back at the girl. "Yes," she said quietly. "She looks our age."

Our age, she thought. She could have been one of us. She could have been me. What was it like for her in those last minutes, overwhelmed and fighting for her life? Her neck is broken – she must have been overpowered and killed at close range. The terror she must have felt, knowing that she was going to die and that there was nothing she could do about it – She felt sick at the thought.

Yamato and Sasuke joined them. Sasuke blanched, and Sakura knew that he was thinking of his brother. She looked back at the girl's pale face, a fine tremor running through her body. Sai and Uchiha Itachi – where were they? Had they survived? She did not want to think about it.

"One of our shinobi," Yamato said. "Her body must have been washed down from the camp." He bent over her. "Judging by her clothes, she was probably from Kirigakure."

"Taichou," said Naruto, "I'm going to bury her." His voice was strained.

"Yes, of course," said Yamato.

"It's important that she have a grave," Naruto said. "Better a grave than being eaten by fishes. Her family will know where she is this way."

Yamato made both the coffin and the grave, whilst Sakura went through the girl's belongings to see if she was carrying any form of identity. At last, she found her name sewn onto the inside of her kimono collar. "Kawano Ran," she read out.

Once the girl was buried and the earth heaped over her grave, Naruto placed a rough cross made out of two willow branches lashed together at its head. The four ninja stepped back from the grave and bowed their heads for a moment, paying their respects to the dead girl.

Standing there, before the grave of a girl he had never known, Naruto felt suddenly helpless. He had promised Nagato that he would take all the hatred and the pain of the war on himself, and that he would deal with it, somehow. Yet he had not had any real understanding of what war meant, of all the pain and fear and horror that it brought. After the first big battle was over and the Alliance was looking for survivors and bringing in the bodies of the dead, he had stood on the battlefield and seen everywhere bitter grief and the anguish of loss. People had broken down and wept over the bodies of friends and lovers, parents and siblings. He could still picture one middle-aged shinobi trying to pull his son's body out from beneath the rubble that had crushed him, cursing and crying out in a hoarse voice. The man's nails were bloody and broken from scrabbling at the rocks, and his face was streaked with tears and dust. There had been so many deaths, and there would be many more, unless he could find a way to end the war, to force Madara himself into the open. He had made that promise in good faith, and yet – and yet – Now he knew why Nagato had scoffed at him. He had been naïve.

He closed his eyes, clenched his fists. He had made a promise – he would not go back on it. He would end the war, and change the world of the shinobi, break the cycle of hatred. That was his responsibility, the task left to him by Ero-sennin and his father, and he would see it done.

Opening his eyes, he turned away from the grave, joining the others waiting for him on the road.

After the burial of the girl, Yamato pressed the pace. There was not much talking, all four of the ninja wrapped in their own thoughts about the girl and the war, and what they might find when they went searching for the scattered Allied shinobi. Sasuke's face was drawn, and he kept biting his lip.

The valley was growing steeper and rockier, and the road, now that it had crossed the river, began to climb up out of it, cutting back and forth across the face of the cliffs. Once Sakura looked down, and saw the river as a ribbon of white in the depths of the valley.

At last the road flattened out again, and they paused to take their bearings. They had travelled quite a distance inland, so that the bay on their left looked the size of a small lake. For a moment, Sakura was dismayed at how far out of their path the valley had taken them, and then she realised that the trees were far closer, hardly more than half a mile away.

"Not far now," said Yamato encouragingly. "We'll head straight for the cove as soon as we've reached the cover of the trees."

Twenty minutes later, they were inside the forest.

The trees were mostly conifers, spruce and pine and larch, and the sweet resinous scent of their needles filled the air. Little brown nuthatches hopped along the branches and trunks, and a treecreeper whistled quietly. A squirrel fluffed out its tail and gave a scolding _chack-chack-chack_ as the ninja passed under its tree, but for all the animal life, there was a feeling of tension in the air, a sense of disaster just passed or perhaps still to come. Naruto could not tell.

He paused, standing perfectly still just long enough to collect the natural energy from all around him, and slipped into Sage Mode. Instantly, he could feel the chakra of the other three, warm and bright, so familiar and dear to him, and then he allowed his senses to reach out – to wander through the trees – passing shy deer and soft-footed lynxes – His eyes lost focus, but his lips were pressed together as he concentrated, going farther and farther – deeper and deeper until –

"Yamato-taichou!"

The others swung round to look at him. "What is it, Naruto?"

"There's a group of ten, no, eleven people at two o' clock, and they're coming this way. Sai's with them." He paused and looked at Sasuke. "So is your brother."

A wave of relief went through Sasuke at his words, his body tingling all over, and then quite suddenly his limbs went loose. His shoulders slumped forward and for a moment his breath was unsteady.

"How far away are they?" he asked.

"Maybe fifteen minutes, if you travel fast," Naruto said, and Sasuke's eyes brightened.

"I'm going to meet them," he said, and bounded off, racing through the branches.

"Hey, wait up!" Naruto called, and took off after him.

Yamato sighed. "Come on, Sakura," he said. "Sometimes, I have no idea how those two survived so long as ninja."

Inner Sakura privately agreed.

They caught up with Naruto and Sasuke just as they reached the small group of survivors. They were plainly on their guard, and had already noticed their approach, for most of them were looking their way, and several of them were already reaching for their kunai. Pausing on a high branch, Sakura took in the whole scene in one quick glance, Naruto and Sasuke dropping out of the trees, the other shinobi tensed and ready to fight or flee, Sai stepping forward with a genuine smile of relief on his face.

"Naruto, Sasuke," he said. "I'm so glad to see you."

Yamato jumped down beside the boys. "Hold it right there," he said. "Naruto, are they real or fake? Are there any transforming Zetsu amongst them?"

"That's rather rude, Yamato-sempai," said one of the other shinobi. "I'd say we're real."

Sakura felt her stomach lurch at the sound of that voice, and her eyes darted to the speaker. That dark curly hair and mischievous grin – there was no mistaking Uchiha Shisui. At his side was Itachi, who was calmly observing the scene before him, his eyes moving from Yamato to the boys, and then up to her, still perched in the branches. Suddenly, coming to rescue the survivors of the allied division did not seem such a good idea after all. It was one thing to be worried about Sasuke's older brother when he was far, far away, and quite another to come face to face with both him and Shisui. After all, there was that _thing_ that had happened years ago when their genin teams were formed and she and Naruto visited Sasuke-kun at home for the first time –

"He has a point, Shisui," said Itachi quietly.

"Well, yes, I suppose with you here, we can never be sure if we're really real or if we're just a genjutsu."

"It's all right, taichou," said Naruto in a slightly strangled voice as he edged behind Sasuke. "They're quite real. All of them."

"Glad to hear that," said Shisui. "Ah, Sakura-chan! I see you up there – you can stop playing peek-a-boo in the branches now."

Her face burning, Sakura joined the rest of her team on the ground. "Hello, Sai," she said, trying to ignore Shisui and Itachi. "How are you? Is anyone in the group wounded?"

"We're mostly fine," Sai said. "Nothing that we couldn't fix with a first aid kit." He held up one bandage-wrapped hand to show her.

"What happened?" Naruto asked. "We heard that there was an Akatsuki attack and that the division was wiped out."

Itachi shook his head. "There was an attack," he said, "but now's not the time to talk. We need to find a safe place to camp first, and once we've rested and eaten, we can exchange news." He glanced at Sasuke. "Nothing to say to your older brother?"

"He just doesn't want to admit he was worried and came rushing here to make sure you were still safe," Shisui drawled. "It wouldn't be in keeping with his sense of Uchiha dignity."

"Hn," said Sasuke, his ears turning very red.

x

They found a campsite several hours later, in a little wooded dell. A spring welled in a basin of rocks near the head of the valley and ran down a bed of pebbles and sand. The trees were more open here, linden and maple and walnut, their leaves flushed with the splendid yellows and reds of autumn.

A pit had been dug and wood collected for a campfire, which Shisui had lit with one of the Uchiha clan's signature fireballs. Sparks rose from the flames, and the flickering light played on the faces of the shinobi sitting around it. Beside Itachi, Shisui and Sai, there were two other Konoha ninja, a chuunin each from Kumo, Iwa and Suna, and three ninja from Kirigakure, who sat staring blankly into the fire, saying nothing, barely touching their food. Their eyes looked through the flames into some immeasurable distance. It was an expression that Team Seven had seen before, on the faces of the villagers of Konoha after Orochimaru and Akatsuki's attacks, and again on the battlefield.

"Now that we've all eaten and are rested," said Yamato, "let's swap information. I know about the attack thanks to my contact in Mizushima, but he didn't know all the details."

Shisui and Itachi exchanged a glance. "All right," said Itachi. "What did you hear?"

Yamato outlined what he had been told, that it was a surprise attack that had come just after the middle of the night, that the white Zetsu soldiers had been used, overrunning the camp by sheer strength of numbers, and that Kirigakure itself had been taken. "We saw the smoke over it earlier today," he finished.

"It's about right," said Shisui. "As for the details, well, it's hard to say. It was very confused and happened so fast. The Zetsu were in the camp and transforming almost before the alarm was raised, so for a while we didn't know whom we could trust. Itachi at least I knew was real, and the rest of our squad, because we'd been together all evening and the Zetsu didn't reach us until after the alarm was raised. We knew they'd been transforming, though, when we got a messenger from the division commander who wanted to speak to Itachi in private."

"It was a Zetsu, right?" Sakura asked.

Shisui nodded. "Yes. He killed two of the squad when they refused to let him by – just snapped their necks – and would have done more damage if Sai hadn't been so quick."

Naruto turned to the other boy. "What did you do?"

"Wrapped him up in a couple of ink snakes," Sai said. "As soon as he was restrained, one of the others killed him."

"What about your hand? How did that happen?"

Sai looked down at his bandaged hand. "I tripped and fell, and put my hand into a campfire." He glanced up again and gave a rueful smile. "A bit clumsy of me, I know."

"I fell a couple of times myself," said the Iwagakure chuunin, pushing her bangs from her forehead. "It was chaos. The Zetsu that hadn't transformed were easy enough to identify, but there were all the ones that _had_ and they were everywhere, fleeing with the panic-stricken, knifing the people who thought they were friends and trusted them with their backs."

"So the division was routed without a fight," Sasuke said. It was less of a question, more of a statement of fact.

Itachi looked at his younger brother. "Not entirely," he said. "People panicked at first, but once the initial shock was over, the squads rallied and fought back."

"We were doing quite well," Shisui chipped in again, "until Akatsuki itself arrived. They didn't attack the division, though – they went after Kirigakure. The first we knew of it was a blinding pillar of light followed by a tremendous explosion that made the ground rock. Itachi thought it was probably that bomber, Deidara, that your team came up against when rescuing the Kazekage, and Kohaku here confirmed it," he said, nodding towards the Iwagakure kunoichi. "It's a pretty distinctive technique."

Naruto and Sakura nodded. "Yeah, I remember," Naruto said. "Exploding clay spiders and birds and grasshoppers."

"Well, this was a mighty big spider, judging by the size of the blast," said Shisui. "That was what put us on the back foot again. The chain of command was in shambles by then, as a Zetsu had managed to get close enough to the division commander to wound him very badly, and when the explosion went off and we saw that it was over the village, well, it was hard to keep everyone together. The Kirigakure ninja wanted to go back to the village to see if their friends and families had survived. Other nins lost their nerve completely and broke ranks. There were Allied shinobi in retreat all over the place, half of them probably fakes sowing panic and stabbing people in the back. That was it. The division was routed."

There was a moment of silence, the only sound the pop and crackle of the campfire.

"What happened to Kirigakure?" Sakura asked at last.

Shisui shook his head. "Don't know. We didn't go near it."

For the first time, one of the Mist ninja made a sound, dropping his head to his knees and moaning as he rocked back and forth, back and forth. One of his companions put an arm round his shoulders, cradling him.

There was nothing Naruto could think of to say. Each time Konoha had been attacked, the village had been able to drive out the invader and rebuild, but Kirigakure was overrun and in the control of the enemy – whatever of it remained. What had happened to the civilians? What had happened to the family and friends of the three Mist ninja? Had they survived the blast, only to die at the hands of the white Zetsu soldiers? Sakura had told him of the terror in Konoha during Pain's attack, when the Six Paths went after ninja and civilian alike. All this death, all this suffering, brought about by a war fought over him. He saw again the girl that he had pulled from the stream – Kawano Ran – and he clenched his hands.

Shisui spoke again. "So now you know our side of the story, let's hear yours. You said you had information."

Yamato briefly outlined the situation in Mizushima, including the lynchings of the ninja there. "Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were attacked as well," he went on, "and Sasuke was taken captive."

Itachi straightened, his eyes darting to his younger brother. "Taken captive? When you say they were killing other ninja on sight?"

Yamato nodded. "He was targeted from the start. Someone wanted an Uchiha."

"An Uchiha?" Shisui said. "You don't think – an agent of Orochimaru?"

Yamato shrugged. "I don't know. Sasuke, who was the woman who came to see you before we broke you out?"

Naruto and Sakura turned to look at their teammate. He shifted a little, clearly uncomfortable under the scrutiny of so many pairs of eyes. "I don't know," he said. "She had glasses and red hair, but I don't know where she was from. She was interested in the seal, though."

Itachi frowned. "It is possible that she is working for Orochimaru if she knows about the seal," he said. "Though why Orochimaru would be looking for an Uchiha on this island –" He broke off, as though struck by a sudden thought.

Yamato rose to his feet. "Well, that's all we have to go on," he said. "We'll camp here tonight, and then head down to the cove tomorrow to rendezvous with the junk. Sakura, you take first watch. I'll take second, and Naruto third. The rest of you can sleep – yes, that includes you, Sasuke, since your seal is playing up."

Sasuke frowned, but said nothing.

As the dusk beneath the trees deepened, the ninja settled down for the night, banking the campfire so that it would continue to smoulder through the dark and piling up drifts of fallen leaves as makeshift beds. Sakura took up a lookout in the fork of a big linden from where she could see the camp and the woodland surrounding the dell. Wrapped in her cloak for some protection against the frosty bite in the air, she reckoned she would be comfortable enough. If only she had Hyuuga eyes, or Naruto's new ability to sense chakra, she would be a lot happier sitting by herself in the dark, watching for the arrival of enemies.

The camp quietened down quickly. As night flowed through the trees, Sakura sat alone in the linden, her hearing sharpening as the light dimmed, faded, went out. That rustling – that was the sound of some small animal scuttling through the leaf litter, freezing dead still as it scented for danger, and then hurrying on again. The splash was a frog leaping in the stream, and those sharp clicks were the others calling on the bank. From further away came the rapid chirping song of a nightjar. She had heard these nighttime sounds many times before, on missions and at home, but now each rustle in the undergrowth, each crackle of a leaf made her pulse race and her skin tingle with fear.

The night passed slowly for Sakura. Overhead, the stars slipped through the net of branches, blazing brightly in the cold night sky. Towards the end of her watch, as midnight approached, the constellation of the Rikudou Sennin climbed over the horizon, his head and red right shoulder first, then the three stars at his belt and finally his brilliant blue foot.

Through a gap in the trees, Sakura saw the red shoulder star, fitful and flickering, and knew her watch was nearly over. Her limbs were cramped and aching from the cold, and she stretched to ease them, then settled back into the fork of the tree, looking at the star. She remembered her father pointing out the constellation to her as a child. She had been sitting on his shoulders, resting her hands on his head, whilst he traced the outlines of the figures for her. The Sage was the first constellation every child learned, so easy to see with his belt and the two bright stars, which they called the Sons of the Sage, Meboshi the Red and Karadaboshi the Blue.

"Meboshi," she breathed, a puff of steam rising from her parted lips. She used to wonder why the shoulder star should be named for eyes, but as she had grown older, she had come to understand that the brightest star of the upper part of the constellation stood in for the head whilst the lower one represented the body below the head. The division between the intellect and the body – hadn't Iruka-sensei explained to them that a complete and perfect shinobi should develop both?

She glanced back at the camp, where Naruto and Sasuke both lay asleep. Eyes and body, she thought, between Naruto's raw strength and Sasuke-kun's sharingan, together they make the perfect ninja. A smile touched her lips. When she was still a genin, she had fantasised about a connection between Sasuke's sharingan and the mythical eyes of the constellation, simply because both were red. Childish dreams and pure nonsense, she knew now – the Rikudou Sennin was a myth, the first and most perfect of shinobi, the archetype to which all ninja aspired.

Not entirely a myth, she reminded herself. The rinnegan was supposed to have been a myth – or at least to have been distorted beyond all truth over time – and then there was Pain. He was real enough, and so was the power of his rinnegan. She saw again the ruins of Konoha, the village flattened and blasted after Pain's Shinra Tensei, remembered the moment that the hospital walls crumbled, the sudden crushing pressure in the air, the ringing in her ears and a taste like metal at the back of her mouth. It had happened in a fraction of a second, before Katsuyu had enveloped her and shielded her against the worst of the shockwave, but the memories were still vivid.

The snap of a twig deeper in the forest jolted her back to watchfulness, her heart pounding, her breath quick and shallow. Straining her eyes, she peered into the darkness, trying to make out some shape or movement in the dark. Was that – could it be – She stared and stared, eyes burning.

Nothing. It must have been a forest animal. No reason for her to be so jumpy.

She settled back against the tree trunk, wrapping her cloak more tightly around her. A glance at the constellation of the Sage told her that she had another half hour to go. She would be glad when Yamato came to relieve her – sitting alone in the tree looking for the enemies she knew were out there was making her very, very nervous.

At last, she heard Yamato yawning, and she gave a thankful sigh. He rose and came over to her tree.

"Sakura," he called quietly, "time to change."

She stood up, her legs aching with cold, and jumped down to join him. "All clear, taichou," she said. "I thought I heard something once, but it was probably just an animal."

Yamato nodded. "You go get some sleep," he told her. "You look tired, and very cold. The fire is still burning – go warm yourself beside it."

Sakura nodded gratefully and stumbled off to find a comfortable place to sleep. Of course, the good ones had all been taken already, though she could hardly begrudge the sleeping ninja their beds of leaves. They looked weary and strained even in sleep – no surprise, given their ordeal of the last twenty-four hours.

She paused close to Itachi and Shisui, looking down at them. They were so tired and so deeply asleep that they had not been woken by the changing of the watch, and even now, when she stood just a foot away, neither of them stirred. They were so vulnerable right now – though she knew better than to believe that. If she took another step closer, they would spring awake and into action almost immediately.

She moved on again, away from them. There was a space between Naruto and Sasuke, and it was close to the fire. With a small sound of contentment, she lay down between the two boys, wriggling a little to remove a handful of stones from the small of her back, and drew her cloak over her. The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes was Yamato making a wood clone … twisted branches rising from his shoulder … twining and bulging … forming a human figure …

x

Sakura came back to wakefulness in a rush. She could hear people jumping to their feet and the ringing sound of kunai clashing. In an instant, she was up, heart pounding, the blood rushing up and down her body. One quick glance around showed her the rest of the ninja scrambling up, or already on their feet and fighting with the white Zetsu emerging from the trees. Naruto and Sasuke were on either side of her, and with the piercing clarity that comes in such moments, a small detached part of her observed that there were still leaves in their hair.

"Buy me enough time to use the Kyuubi's chakra," Naruto said. "I'll get rid of these guys."

"I'll try to leave some for you, slowpoke," Sasuke said, and flicked through the seals for a katon jutsu. He inhaled deeply, and then, cheeks puffed, he blew out a beard of flame that engulfed half a dozen of the Zetsu.

"Not bad!" called Shisui, and proceeded to pepper his attackers with a shower of neatly aimed shurikens covered in fire.

Sakura drew a pair of kunai from her thigh holster, twirled them, and readied herself to attack.

"Sakura, you stay back," Sasuke said. "They know you're a med-nin and they'll be targeting you."

"I can take care of myself, Sasuke-kun."

"Sasuke's right, Sakura."

"Not you as well, Sai!" Sakura set her jaw stubbornly.

"You don't have any long-range techniques," he pointed out in a cool and reasonable tone, "so you have to let them come to you, and since they can transform into you if they touch you –"

"Sai, behind you!"

The boy spun round, drawing his tanto in time to block a kunai attack from a Zetsu. Before Sakura could duck under his arm to punch the Zetsu, Sai swept his feet out from under him so that he toppled backwards into the path of one of Sasuke's fireballs. For a moment, he flailed and writhed, screaming, and then collapsed to the ground, badly burned and oozing a white substance from his pores. Sakura had to fight down the reflex to vomit at the stench of charred flesh.

There was a burst of brilliant light beside her, and she glanced over to see Naruto wreathed in the strange yellow flames of the Kyuubi chakra. "Here I go," he said. "Rasenrangan!"

He shot forward, massive clawed arms forming from the chakra and rapidly creating rasengan. Watching him launch his attack on the Zetsu, Sakura realised the assault was as good as finished now that Naruto had joined battle. All around the campsite, the Zetsu were falling, those that had been struck by Naruto's barrage of rasengan sprouting branches and leaves, turning into trees in a matter of seconds.

It was over as rapidly as it had begun, and the shinobi began to drift towards Naruto. "Are we all real?" Shisui asked, grinning wickedly at Yamato.

"Yes, everyone here is real," Naruto replied, "but there are more of them out there, and they're coming this way."

Yamato frowned. "Retreating through the forest at night is going to be risky, but if we stay put they'll know exactly where to find us and will just keep attacking until we're worn out." He nodded towards the Kirigakure ninja, one of whom was bleeding from a gash along the inside of her forearm. "I don't know how much longer they'll last."

"Retreat is the safest option, sempai," said Itachi. "We have a chance of evading them, especially if Naruto can continue to use the Kyuubi's sensory abilities." He paused, looked at Naruto again. "Though I suppose you can't stop glowing, can you?"

Naruto shook his head.

"That's a drawback," said Shisui. "By the way, Naruto, you're attracting moths."

"Do we have enough time to heal the wounded?" Sakura asked, looking anxiously at the bleeding kunoichi.

"You can heal up that girl's cut whilst the rest of us strike camp," Yamato said, "but we don't have much time. If we take too long, we'll have to fight our way out of here."

Sakura nodded, then hurried to the girl's side. "I'm a medic-nin," she said. "Let me see your arm."

The girl extended it without a word. Her face was streaked with dirt and tears, and there were shadows beneath her eyes. Sakura noted her pallor, the rapidity of her heart rate, the fine tremor running through her body, her quick, shallow breathing. Even though she was sweating, her hands were cold to the touch. Shock, probably from all that she had been through, as well as from blood loss.

Quickly, she set to work on the cut. The ulnar artery had been nicked and was the chief cause of the blood flow – she had to staunch that first. Before the war she would have been anxious about healing such an injury, but in the last month she had treated so many patients, seen so many gruesome wounds and disfigurements, that she knew exactly what to do. Slow the blood flow, help it thicken and coagulate, knit the walls of the artery together again, making certain not to miss a single spot. Shizune had told her of a similar situation, where the med-nin had closed up the cut without checking to see that the artery had fully healed, and the patient had haemorrhaged under their skin and died.

At last, she sat back. "You'll be fine now," she said, smiling at the girl. "Take this blood replenishment pill, and you'll be all right in no time." She turned to the other Kirigakure shinobi. "Just keep an eye on her – she may feel a little dizzy from the blood loss until the pill starts working."

She pushed herself to her feet, and turned to find Shisui standing close behind her, her pink-painted satchel in his hand. Her stomach lurched and she fought down the impulse to take a step backwards.

"Sakura-chan," he said, "Sasuke and Naruto both denied ownership of this, so I can only conclude that it is yours."

"Yes, it is," she managed to squeak out, taking it from him and hastily slinging it over her shoulders. Shisui always managed to embarrass her and make her feel she was thirteen again.

"Sakura-chan," he said, as she prepared to scurry off to the safety of her boys, "I do have one question for you."

"What is it, Shisui-san?" she asked with a feeling of dread. He was going to mock her for the pinkness and the wings, she could just tell it by the twinkle in his eye. At least this time she could tell him it was part of her disguise in Mizushima.

"Why do you have a doll like that on your satchel?"

* * *

><p><strong>Notes that could be more interesting<strong>

"Skylark/ sings all day,/ and day not long enough" is a haiku by the Japanese poet Bashō, from whose _The Narrow Road to the Deep North_ I have taken the title of this story. This translation is by Lucien Stryk, and was taken from the Penguin Classics collection of his haiku, _On Love and Barley_.

The constellation of the Rikudou Sennin, with a belt of three stars, is Orion. Meboshi the Red is Betelgeuse, a red supergiant that is the eighth brightest star in the sky and several times more massive than our own sun. Its nickname amongst astronomers is Beetlejuice. Karadaboshi the Blue is Rigel, the sixth brightest star in the sky and a blue supergiant orbited by two smaller stars. Interesting astronomical facts aside, these two stars have historical significance in Japan, with Rigel being known as Genji-boshi and Betelgeuse as Heike-boshi after the warring clans of the Minamoto (Genji) and Taira (Heike). Theirs is a long and fascinating story, with some very interesting parallels with _Naruto_, which you can read up on in the threads "Kurama Tengu" and "Madara, Izuna, Tobi, and the Tengu Myth" on Naruto Forums.

And, for those of you with an interest in muscles, bones and the various other squishy bits that make up anatomy, there are two big arteries in the forearm, the radial and the ulnar arteries, carrying oxygenated blood down to your hands where it gives up and allows smaller arteries to make sure your fingers get their fair share of blood. The ulnar artery is the chief artery of the forearm. It's the one on the same side of your arm as the little finger; the radial artery is the one on the same side as your thumb. Ah, biology.


	4. Fight And Flight

Friday! The weekend! An update! Another fight! I should probably point out in advance that fight scenes are not my strong point. Any criticism, suggestions or tips on writing action scenes will be much appreciated, because right now, I struggle.

Also, to clear up any potential confusion, the story is set in an AU where the Uchiha clan was not massacred, and consequently Sasuke never left Konoha. More of the backstory - the similarities to canon and the divergences - will be revealed in bits and pieces through the coming chapters.

A big thank you to my beta, Just Subliminal, for being so quick to read each chapter, and for her ever-useful suggestions and comments.

* * *

><p>Chapter Four<p>

Fight And Flight

The first grey light was filtering through the trees as the ninja hurried through the forest, leaping from branch to branch, alighting on the ground only if the distance between trees was too great to cross in a single bound. They moved swiftly, keeping close together, continually scanning their surroundings.

Naruto had been drawing on the Kyuubi's chakra for several hours, and thanks to him they had avoided several roving groups of Zetsu. He was starting to tire, though, drained by the effort of having to keep the fox's will at bay for so long. Sakura and Sasuke, on either side of him, could see the sweat on his brow and the lines around his eyes, and they exchanged a worried glance.

"Naruto," Sakura said, "aren't you pushing yourself a little too hard?"

He flashed her one of his brilliant smiles. "It's all right, Sakura-chan," he said. "I'm the toughest guy in the w- ugh!"

"Not tough enough to break branches with your head, dumbass," Sasuke muttered. "Next time, duck."

Naruto staggered a little, rubbing the top of his head with one hand. "I think I left half my scalp behind," he said.

"I think you need a rest from using the Kyuubi's chakra," said Sakura. "You couldn't even see that branch coming. Itachi-san can take over as sensor for a bit."

"Ugly is right," Sai chipped in. Sakura's eyes flashed dangerously, and both Sasuke and Naruto grabbed hold of her arms. This made jumping rather awkward.

"Now's not the place, Sakura-chan," Naruto said in a voice that was supposed to sound appeasing, but had a distinctly frantic note to it.

"I know that, you moron!" she growled. "Now let me go, both of you!" When they hesitated, she added, "If you don't let me go before the count of five, I shall –"

"That's not exactly going to convince us of your good intentions," Sasuke pointed out.

Yamato's voice cut through their squabbling. "What are you three doing?"

They sprang apart at once. "Nothing, taichou!"

Yamato gave them a hard look. In his eagerness to be clearly separate from Sakura and Sasuke and not doing anything that would warrant Yamato's rule by fear face, Naruto shot off to one side, missed his footing, and fell from the branch. Before anyone had time to react, though, an arm of glowing yellow chakra shot out, grappled a bough on the next tree, and swung Naruto up again.

"Naruto," Yamato said, "I think you need to take a break from drawing on the Kyuubi's chakra. You're tired, and it's affecting your judgement."

"Yes, taichou," he said meekly, and the soft golden glow flickered and went out.

Judging by Sakura's expression, Sasuke suspected she harboured a desire to have a rule by fear face too. He briefly contemplated letting her know that she was well on the way – there was the way she drew her eyebrows together and narrowed her eyes just before punching her victim, which usually led to Naruto cringing and desperately trying to retract his last statement – but then decided against it. There was no telling how she might abuse her power if she knew she had it. Besides, she was a woman and therefore canny, and if she knew that he had worked out a warning system that predicted when a punch was incoming, she might very well change it just so that she could keep him on his toes. His mother did things like that, he reflected, as did Itachi. What this said about his brother, he did not know.

A rising mist curled in pale coils amongst the tree trunks. The forest seemed to melt into the blue dawn light, the trees swimming in a river of mist and vapour. As the ground began to climb, the mist thinned, and slowly the light strengthened, brightening little by little. Birds were calling from the trees all around.

A flight of shuriken came whizzing through the air, burying themselves in the trees with a _thwack_, _thwack_, _thwack_. The shinobi came to a halt and ducked behind the trunks.

"It's an ambush," said the Kirigakure kunoichi that Sakura had healed, her eyes wide with fear.

"If they have shuriken," said Kohaku, the Iwagakure chuunin, "they can't be white Zetsu. They don't carry weapons."

Shisui shook his head. "They could be transformed Zetsu. I make it ten of them. How about you, Itachi?"

"The same."

Yamato looked at Naruto. "I hate to ask you –"

"It's no good," Naruto said. "Even if they are real, they're frightened and angry and prepared to kill us, so I can't tell them apart from the Zetsu. All I can sense when using the Kyuubi's chakra is negative emotion."

"Sitting here isn't doing any good," Sasuke pointed out. "They're coming closer. If we don't do something, they'll have us surrounded."

"But what?" Sakura asked. "We can't risk hurting our own allies."

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan," said Naruto. "I've got it sorted. _Taijuu kagebunshin no jutsu!_"

A moment later, there were twenty or so shadow clones stacked on the branches. Just as quickly as they had appeared, though, they transformed into shuriken, which Naruto handed to the three Uchiha.

"It's up to you," he said with a grin. "Get me behind the enemy lines."

Sakura held her breath as Sasuke, Itachi and Shisui sprang away in different directions. If they could just get Naruto's transformed bunshin close enough to the enemy –

"Looks like shinobi," said Naruto. "No Zetsu that I can see. I'll let my clones try to talk them over – oh, that one got stabbed as well. In that case –"

"What are you doing, Naruto?" Yamato asked suspiciously. At that moment, a chorus of very feminine squeals came from the enemy's position, followed by a series of thuds as several heavy objects fell out of the trees.

Naruto looked very innocent. "Trying another method of getting them to pay attention to the bunshin. It seems to have had more success."

Sakura said nothing, merely raised an eyebrow. Kohaku poked her in the ribs. "What sort of technique did he use?" she asked curiously.

"Er – a special secret technique of his," Sakura said evasively.

Before long, one of Naruto's bunshin, mercifully transformed back into Naruto, and fully clad, came sauntering down the hill, one of the strange ninja following him. "It's all right," he called. "I've spoken to them and they're going to stop throwing things at us."

The shinobi from both parties slowly came out into the open, still wary. Sakura, following Naruto, kept chakra circulating through her body, ready to smash a hole in the ground or punch a tree over if need be. There was no way of trusting these people, no way of telling if they were real or impostors. She hated the uncertainty, hated having to suspect even the wounded and desperate, but she had learned her lesson in the battle, when she and Shizune had been targeted. Letting just one person past the guard had been a near-fatal blunder on her part, and had Naruto not arrived in the nick of time, she might have been killed.

As the two parties drew closer together, Naruto's bunshin vanished in a puff of smoke, and Naruto started. The next instant, the stranger shinobi who had been following him sprang forward, kunai in hand.

Sakura saw Naruto tense as his bunshin burst, saw the stranger leap towards him, and in one fluent motion, her body moving automatically, she jumped before her teammate and smashed her fist into the ground, tearing it into fissures and jumbled heaps of rock and earth, even uprooting a tree. The onrushing ninja stumbled, his footing unsteady as the ground heaved and cracked beneath his feet, and then came on again.

"Fall back!" Yamato shouted. "Fall back! It's a trap!"

Sakura and Naruto obeyed at once, springing back several feet. A heartbeat of time later a fireball roared over the space where they had been standing, kindling the undergrowth and leaf litter.

"Nice one, Sasuke!" Naruto called, glancing over one shoulder.

"Pay attention to what's going on in front of you," Sakura snapped. "There's more than one fake."

A shrill scream, cut abruptly short, caught her attention. Her eyes widened in horror when she saw one of the fakes toss aside the girl she had healed, her throat slashed wide open and streams of blood spilling down her front. Naruto, turning to see what Sakura was staring at, gave a snarl, and sprang towards them, creating a kagebunshin as he went.

"Naruto! Come back!" she shouted, but he did not seem to hear her.

She glimpsed a motion out of the corner of her eye, and ducked just in time, one of the fakes' kunai flying over her head. Looking up, she saw the fake himself was almost upon her, and she struck the ground with one fist, unbalancing him just enough to give her a chance to straighten up and punch him in the gut. He went flying backwards, and she took the chance to look for Naruto again.

"Sakura, focus!" Sasuke yelled, and she turned to see another fake rushing her. Reaching into the pouch strapped to her hip, fingers closing on a slip of paper, she dodged his first blow, and in that one brief moment he was off-balance and open to her counter-attack, she pulled out an exploding tag, slapped it on his body, and somersaulted out of reach before it detonated.

Sasuke and Shisui were at her side. "Sakura, get back," Sasuke said. "They know you're a medic – they're targeting you deliberately."

"What about Naruto?" she asked.

"He's fine."

Shisui snorted. "The guy who just got a rasengan to the face – not so fine."

There was a burst of red light overhead, and Sakura glanced up, her heart racing. "A flare!" She looked around, and saw one of the enemy ninja tossing the spent canister to the ground.

"Looks like we're in for it now," said Shisui. "The little rat." He made a handseal and the next moment was behind the ninja. One quick kunai slice across the throat followed by a chop to the back of the neck, and the fake dropped with a crash. As he went down, the transformation technique ended, and he returned to his original white Zetsu form.

"That wraps it up here," Shisui said, and executed another of his extraordinary shunshin to return to Sasuke and Sakura. "Now to get the hell out of here before the next wave of enemies arrives."

"How many are wounded?" Sakura asked, her gaze darting to the Kirigakure kunoichi, lying where she had been thrown. She was coughing weakly, blood spurting from her throat with each choking gasp.

A hand gripped her shoulder. "You can't save her," Shisui said. "Not this time."

Angrily, Sakura tried to wrench free, but his grip tightened. "She's a goner, Sakura," he said.

"I can heal her!"

At the sound of Sakura's voice, the girl's eyes rolled her way. They were pleading, frightened, and the message they carried was as clear as if she had spoken: _I don't want to die_. _Help me_.

"She's still alive – she has a chance!" Sakura felt tears crowding at the backs of her own eyes. "You have to let me heal her!"

Shisui's grip slackened, and she pulled free, running to the girl's side. Falling on her knees beside her, she began to work as quickly as she could, staunching the flow of blood and trying to see where it was coming from. Let it be just the external jugular vein – it had to be the external jugular in order for her to have survived this long.

There was so much blood, so much blood, and it wouldn't stop flowing. It kept leaking out, spilling all over her hands. Sakura felt a rising panic as the blood refused to coagulate fast enough, and she redoubled her efforts. Through the chakra suffusing the wound, she could feel each of the girl's shallow double breaths, one whistling and bubbling through the cut in her throat, the feverish racing of her heart, her fear and desperation. She looked up from her work and met the girl's gaze. Her eyes were still fixed on hers, begging her for help, but they were dim now, and there was a transparency to her skin that had not been there before.

The flow of blood finally began to slacken, and Sakura felt a stab of triumph. At last! Quickly, she closed the wound, and sat back on her heels, assessing the girl's condition. Her pulse had weakened, and her eyes were not quite focused, but at least the terrible bleeding had stopped.

"You'll be all right now," Sakura said, smiling at her. "If you take another blood replenishment pill –"

Suddenly, the girl gasped, her breath quickening, and she raised one hand to her chest. Her fingers tightened, her hand curling up into a claw. Her eyes were dark with fear and pain, and a sheen of sweat stood out on her brow.

Horrified, Sakura realised it was as though she was having a heart attack. She placed one hand on the other girl's chest, feeling for her pulse, and immediately felt an irregular pounding. Quickly, she let her chakra run into the girl's chest, looking for the cause of the attack. It would probably be a clot, which she could break up easily enough with her chakra, and the normal flow of blood could resume.

There was no clot, just a great empty bubble in one half of the heart, and Sakura blanched. An air embolism, she realised, and her next thought was, I've killed her. I closed that vein too fast and trapped all this air inside. There's nothing I can do except ease her final moments.

Tears pricked her eyes, and she bit her lip. There had to be something more she could do – she could not give up on the girl. She was so frightened of dying. She had looked to her, trusted in her to save her. She could not betray that sort of trust.

But you have to, she reminded herself. You can't heal her now. She's bled out and is having a heart attack, which you caused. You know what you have to do.

A tear rolled down the side of her nose.

Go on, she told herself. Go on, make her comfortable at the end.

She looked back at the girl's face. It was pale, pale as wax, and all the blue tracery of veins could be clearly seen beneath her sweating skin. Still those eyes clung to hers desperately, asking their unspoken question.

Sakura smiled at her, and quietly sent a pulse of excess chakra through her _keirakukei_. The girl's eyes slid shut and her body went limp. The hand curled on her breast relaxed. Sakura sat by her side, looking down at her face, peaceful now as she slept her way towards death. Drying blood stained her pale throat, the last of a dark flow that matted her hair, saturated her clothes, soaked into the earth beneath her. How could there be so much blood in one body!

A hand settled on her shoulder. She did not look over to see to whom it belonged. She did not want to see. She did not want to look at anyone, nor speak to them. She felt dirty, unclean, a murderer unworthy of associating with her friends. She had killed a teammate. She had given her a heart attack, and then sent her to sleep instead of trying to heal her.

"Sakura-chan."

It was Naruto. "Sakura-chan," he repeated in a soft, soft voice.

Slowly, she got to her feet. Her limbs felt heavy. She stood, looking down at the girl a moment longer, and then turned away. The movement made her buckle at the knees, and she realised for the first time how much chakra she had used. Naruto caught her before she fell.

"Sakura-chan, you don't look so good," he said, peering anxiously into her face. "Come on, let me help you."

She allowed him to lead her away, step by step, one of her arms over his shoulders, but as they reached the rest of the group, she pulled away from him. "I'm all right, Naruto," she said, forcing herself to meet his eyes and smile, but he still looked worried.

You are all right, she told herself. You're not going to be a burden on everyone else. You're a medic. You've seen patients die before. Now, pull yourself together.

"Here, Sasuke-kun, I can take my pack," she said, reaching out with one hand.

He looked at her, his expression appalled, and she realised for the first time what a sight she must seem, her hands and knees covered in drying blood. There were smears of blood on the shoulders of Naruto's tracksuit top from her hands. She opened her mouth, but found she had no words, and took her haversack from Sasuke with a quiet "Thank you".

Kohaku, the Iwagakure kunoichi, was not as reticent as Sasuke. "You're very bloody, Sakura," she said, and pulled a small flannel facecloth out of her own satchel. She uncorked her canteen, poured some water over the facecloth to wet it, and passed it to Sakura. "Better clean up," she said.

As she wiped her hands and knees clean as best as she could, Sakura turned to Yamato. "What's the plan, taichou?" she asked. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see the two remaining Mist ninja sitting beside their dead comrade, paying her their last respects.

"We're going to head out of here as fast as possible," he said. "The cove is about ten miles to the north-west of us and there's open country to cross before we reach it. We'll need a head start on the pursuit."

Done with the cloth, Sakura held it out to Kohaku. "Thank you," she said to the other girl. "It's a bit messy, though. Sorry."

Kohaku shook her head. "Not a problem. It's been plenty messy before."

"Come on!" Naruto called, already up in the trees. "We need to get to the cove!"

Sakura looked back one last time at the girl lying amongst the leaves, her face peaceful now in death. I killed her, she thought. If I hadn't been so hasty – if I hadn't been so careless – Her eyes filled with tears, and she turned away, hot with guilt.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, and then took to the trees.

Sasuke followed her, watching her closely. He'd seen her cope with the death of patients before, and never had she been so shaken. Sure, she was tired and on edge after Mizushima and the attacks in the forest, and she had hardly slept during the night, but to be this upset … He frowned. Something was bothering Sakura, something to do with the way the girl died. He would ask her about it the next time they stopped.

The trees were beginning to be more widely spaced, and the dim light filtering through the forest grew stronger and brighter. Now the ninja raced through bars of slanting sunbeams and shadow, still on the lookout for enemies. Naruto was drawing on the Kyuubi's chakra again, using it to scout for the Zetsu that would be heading towards the flare.

"A group at two o'clock!" he called. "They're moving fast and coming this way!"

"How many?" Shisui asked.

"There's a lot of them – more than thirty."

Sasuke glanced at Sakura, and saw that she had her determined expression on. Her brows were drawn down and together and her mouth was set in a line. In one hand she held a kunai at the ready. She was clearly prepared for a fight, despite the Kirigakure kunoichi's death.

Or perhaps because of it, said a little voice at the back of Sasuke's head. She might be angry and take needless risks. I'll have to keep an eye on her.

"If we get separated, make for the cove," Yamato said. "We'll meet up there."

"They're close!" said Naruto, and Sasuke started to mould chakra for chidori. Through the trees, he glimpsed a flash of movement, and activated his sharingan, staring intently in that direction. Yes, it was the Zetsu, some transformed, others still in their original form. He did not need to perform a head count to see that they outnumbered the ninja.

"Naruto!" Sasuke said, letting his chidori blaze up around his hand. "Let's go!"

"Yeah!" Naruto hurtled forward, wielding several dozen rasengan in giant chakra arms, and Sasuke shot after him, the exhilaration of the fight thrumming in his veins. His chidori chirped and crackled with the sound of a thousand birds singing, and as he burst through the trees, upon the startled Zetsu, he reshaped it into a bright white lance and swung it. It scythed through the Zetsu, slicing into them as easily as a hot knife slides into butter, and his whole body tingled from the strength of the chakra running in him.

He made several short, swift swings with the lance, and then let it discharge so that he could fire off a katon jutsu. He could see Naruto launching a second rasenrangan off to one side, and beyond him, Itachi and Shisui wreaking havoc. Yet there were still so many Zetsu, surely more even than the thirty Naruto had counted.

He sensed rather than saw Sakura appear at his side, wielding a handful of kunai, which she started to throw into the midst of the enemy, each in a different direction. "Get Naruto back," she said to Sasuke. "He doesn't want to be caught up in this."

Sasuke nodded, and sprang away. Naruto was easy to pick out, even in the midst of the enemy, radiating chakra as he was, and Sasuke cleared a path to him with a simple katon. Naruto looked up as he plummeted to the ground beside him.

"Sakura says to get out of here," Sasuke said. "She's going to use her blizzard technique and you're in the way." He nodded to one of the kunai, embedded in the trunk of the tree just above their heads, an innocently pink little bag dangling from the handle. He was amused to see a look of apprehension cross Naruto's face, not that he could blame him. The last time Sakura had used the jutsu, she had made a small but substantial crater in the training ground.

"Let's get out of here," Naruto said.

"That's what we're supposed to be doing, moron."

The two boys withdrew with alacrity, Sasuke pausing to spear several Zetsu who were too close for comfort. As he extended the chidori lance to its full length, he felt a hot throbbing pain at the base of his neck and he gritted his teeth. The chidori flickered, crackled, and went out, and he clutched at his shoulder, fingers digging into his flesh.

"Sasuke, what the hell are you doing?" Naruto grabbed his free arm and slung it over his shoulders. "Come on, we have to get away from here!"

There was a boom, and a billow of flame and smoke went up. Naruto half-carrying, half-leading Sasuke, the two boys leaped for safety, the heat of the explosion beating upon their backs. All around them, singed cherry blossoms were falling to the ground, fluttering and spinning down, down, down through the air. The scent of smoke mingled with a strangely metallic smell.

Sakura joined them. "I think that worked," she said.

Sasuke thought that the smoking crater and burning trees spoke for themselves.

"Where's Yamato-taichou?" Naruto asked.

"I have no idea," Sakura admitted. "The last I saw of him, he and Sai were fighting the Zetsu back there. Right now, we're surrounded by the enemy."

The throbbing pain in Sasuke's shoulder was building and he raised his hand to touch the cursed seal again. He could feel it pulsating beneath his fingers, the three tomoes hot to the touch. If he tried to mould chakra in this state, he risked the seal draining it and taking over, but they were cut off from the rest and fighting their way through with taijutsu might not be possible. He could see the Zetsu regrouping on the far side of the crater.

"We'll have to break through," he said, releasing his shoulder. "Their numbers should be thinnest where Sakura just used her technique."

Naruto nodded. "Stay with us, Sakura-chan," he said. "We're not going to be split up."

She smiled at him, and then all three turned and raced towards the enemy. Teeth clenched against the pain of the cursed seal, Sasuke held off on moulding his chakra until the last minute, and then blew out a fireball that swept through the Zetsu. His body shook from the effort, his knees almost buckling as the cursed seal writhed, trying to break through the fuuja houin and extract as much chakra as it could. He could see Naruto ranging ahead now, glowing golden arms smashing rasengan into the enemy or sweeping them off their feet. Those that were hit took root and began to sprout leaves, so that Sasuke and Sakura had to fight their way through a tangle of whippy branches.

And then, quite suddenly, they had broken through and were running through the forest. Naruto's cloak of golden chakra flickered out, and he staggered drunkenly for a few steps. Ignoring the pounding in his shoulder, Sasuke sprang to cover him and sent another fireball in the direction of the Zetsu pursuing them. As he turned to run, his feet tangled up and he nearly fell, catching himself in the nick of time.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura was at his side, her eyes widening as she saw the cursed seal. "Sasuke-kun, you're pushing yourself too hard."

"It's either that or die," he growled.

They were coming to the fringe of the forest. Through the tree trunks they could see an expanse of grass, still grey with dew, and beyond it, rolling hill country that fell away into a fog bank. It was so open – no way for them to hide and give their pursuers the slip.

How many were chasing them? Sasuke looked over his shoulder. Fifteen or twenty, he reckoned. Where had they all come from? How to get rid of them? He was nearly out of chakra and Naruto was plainly exhausted as well.

As they stumbled out of the trees, Sasuke realised that Sakura was no longer with him. Turning, he saw that she had swung round to face the pursuing Zetsu, chakra visibly gathering in her clenched fists. "We can't keep running," she said. "We have to get rid of them, or else they'll keep chasing us."

Looking at her back, stiff with pride and determination, Sasuke drew himself up. He was shaking and breathless, and the cursed seal was squirming frantically against the confines of the fuuja houin, but if Sakura was going to fight, he was going to be by her side. Setting his teeth, he drew on the last of his chakra.

A burst of pain from the seal nearly brought him to his knees, clutching his shoulder, but he forced himself to his feet again. Sweat ran into his eyes, blurring his vision, but even so, he saw the Zetsu rushing forward, one reaching for Sakura, and his body moved without thought.

"_Chidori senbon!_"

The chakra needles whistled through the air, and Sasuke collapsed to his knees, the seal finally breaking free from the fuuja houin and racing across his body like fire. It seared his tissues, pouring through his body and burning every muscle, every vein, every cell. His chest tightened as though squeezed by some giant hand, and he coughed and retched, the taste of metal at the back of his mouth.

Dimly he was aware of Naruto leaping before him, a rasengan in hand. Dimly, he realised that the thud behind him was Sakura falling to the ground. He tried to make himself stand, but his legs were too weak. He saw Naruto crumple as one of the Zetsu hit him in the midriff, and knew that they would all die if he could not find the strength to rise. He needed strength … he needed power … power above all else … He saw again the face of Orochimaru – _I can give you power_ – and a wave of heat and electricity washed over his body.

Out of nowhere, two figures suddenly appeared between him and the Zetsu, and with a roar, a wall of fire blazed up before them, a raging inferno that swept over the Zetsu and consumed them utterly. Ah, he thought, good timing, and the tingling in his veins died down.

"You are a sorry looking lot," said Shisui cheerfully. "Good thing the big damn heroes were around to save the day."

Sasuke gave him a cool look of the sort intended to serve notice that he was not prepared to dignify such ridiculousness with an answer.

Itachi stooped over him. After a moment's calm scrutiny, he straightened up. "You overdid it," he said, and held out a hand. "Can you stand?"

With his brother's help, Sasuke regained his feet. Naruto was all right, as far as he could make out, just winded from the punch and bleeding from a stab wound in one shoulder. Nothing serious. Sakura was still on the ground, shaking all over, staring into some unseen world. Shisui waved a hand before her face.

"Sakura? Sakura-chan?" He snapped his fingers in front of her eyes. "Sakura-chan, are you hurt? In a genjutsu?"

She stirred, visibly coming back to herself from wherever she had been. Her eyes darted first to Naruto, then flinched away from him. "I'm all right," she said, and smiled brightly. "I'm not wounded."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. He'd seen her face change when she looked at Naruto, even if it had been for just one fleeting moment. She could smile all she wanted, but she was not fooling him. The sooner he found out what the matter with her was, the better.

"Since you three are in no shape to fight, we'll make straight for the rendezvous point at the cove," Itachi said. "Naruto, I'm afraid your shoulder will have to wait. We're dangerously exposed here."

"I – I ought to bandage the wound to prevent blood loss," said Sakura. Sasuke, watching her, did not miss the moment of hesitation.

"Not right now, Sakura-chan," said Shisui. "We have to move from here."

Sakura opened her mouth to protest, but Naruto cut her off. "You know I'm tough and heal up all by myself, Sakura-chan. I'll be fine." He grinned, and she gave a wry smile in return.

"No matter how much I scold you, you never listen," she said affectionately, and cuffed him upside the head. "Idiot!"

x

It was nearly midday when the five ninja came to the cove. The fog had dissipated, and looking down from the cliff tops they could see the junk rocking at anchor in the blue water. There was no sign of any of their companions. A bird wheeled high overhead, very white against the brittle autumn sky.

Cautiously, they began to pick their way down the cliff face, leaping from rock to rock rather than take the narrow goat path that led to the gravelly beach below. Wild roses grew in thickets here, sprays of pink _hamanasu_ tumbling over the pale rock, and stonecrop and forbs clung to crevices and crannies.

Sakura glanced up at the cliff top as she descended, and saw that the bird had stooped lower as though watching them. It was quite a big bird, a gull perhaps, or an albatross, though, now that she thought about it, the wings were not as long and thin as they should be. A sea eagle instead?

"What're you looking at, Sakura-chan?"

She glanced at Naruto, green eyes meeting concerned blue ones. "The bird up there," she said. "I was just wondering what it is."

He squinted up, shading his eyes against the glare of the sun. "Hard to make out," he said. "It's pretty big, whatever it is. Hey, Sasuke! You know about birds – what's that one?"

Sasuke gave Naruto a disgusted look. "It's a big white one," he said.

"That's a useless answer, Sasuke."

"I'm a ninja, not an ornithologist, dimwit."

"I thought you were supposed to be a genius."

"I am."

"Then how come you don't know what that bird is?"

Sakura sighed. Trust the two of them to start arguing over the most ridiculous of things. She dropped the last few feet to the beach, her boots crunching on the gravel and pebbles, and glanced up once again. The bird had definitely come lower, and as she watched, it rolled sideways through the air and dived down.

Shisui joined Sakura. "That's no ordinary bird," he said, staring shrewdly up at it, and Sakura suddenly recognised it herself.

"Sai!" she called joyously, waving her arms. "Sai! You're all right!"

The bird disappeared in a splatter of ink and Sai leaped lightly to the ground. "Hello, Sakura, Shisui-sempai, Itachi-sempai," he said with a smile. "Hello, Idiots." This last he addressed to Naruto and Sasuke, who ceased squabbling at once and looked daggers at him.

"Stop there," Itachi said sharply, slipping a kunai from his sleeve, and Sai checked. "Are you the real Sai?"

"I can give you our squad's password," Sai said.

"Not good enough any longer," said Shisui. "You could have got that from any of the squad members you found in the forest, including the real Sai."

Sakura stepped forward. "Sai, what did you always want to show your brother?" she asked.

"Oh, you mean the book?" Sai asked. "The centre page, of us smiling and holding hands."

"When did you complete it?"

"In Orochimaru's hideout, with Naruto there."

"He's the real one," Sakura said, and Naruto nodded his agreement.

Itachi slid the kunai back up his sleeve, and both he and Shisui relaxed somewhat. "Do you know where the others are?"

Sai shook his head. "Yamato-taichou had managed to keep everyone together and we were retreating, but then a second group ambushed us. Everything was rather confused at that point, and I got cut off from the others. I took to the air to escape."

"Did you see any signs of them from the air?" Naruto asked.

"I'm afraid not."

Sakura felt sick. Yamato-taichou had not made it out of the forest, even though he was one of the best in ANBU. If he were not here, then –

Her mind recoiled from the thought. She could see her own fear mirrored on Naruto and Sasuke's faces, and in Sai's downcast eyes, and she twisted her hands together, gripping until her knuckles whitened.

She turned, looking across the cove to the waiting junk. A small boat had been let down from the side of the junk and a man was rowing it across the shallow cove. When it ground on the pebbly bottom, he shipped his oars and sprang overboard into the surf.

"Ahoy there!" he called, grinning broadly. "You made it after all!" Then his expression changed, his forehead creasing as his smile faded. "Where is Yamato-dono? And you three," he went on, looking at Itachi, Shisui and Sai, "where did you come from?"

Naruto stepped forward. "They're fellow Konoha shinobi who survived the Akatsuki attack," he said. His voice was firm and authoritative, and Sakura wondered when this new quality had come to him. He seemed so grown-up somehow – when had it happened? "We met them on the way here. We can vouch for them. This one is Sasuke's elder brother. As for Yamato-taichou, he's been delayed."

"Delayed? Well, we'll wait till dawn tomorrow, as he ordered." The man gestured to the boat. "You'd better get in," he said. "Though how I'll fit six of you in here –"

"Take the kids," said Shisui. "Race you to the junk. We'll even give you a headstart."

The race was a foregone conclusion. Itachi and Shisui waited until the boat was nearly three-quarters of the way across the cove before starting, and even then they were on deck several minutes before the boat reached the side of the junk.

As she boarded the small sail ship, Sakura knew that she would no longer be able to put off looking at Naruto's injured shoulder. She had felt a guilty relief when Itachi said there was no time to treat him, but now she was out of excuses. She would have to heal him.

No sooner had the thought passed through her mind than she saw once more the Kirigakure kunoichi clutching at her chest, face contorted with pain, and she felt suddenly hot with shame and guilt. She had killed that girl through her own carelessness. What if she made a mistake when healing Naruto? When that Zetsu had stabbed him and the blood come spurting from the wound, she had nearly fainted from fear that he would bleed out, just as that girl had.

Her hands shook, and she clasped them together, trying to stop the trembling. She could feel the pressure of eyes on her, a prickling on the back of her neck, and glancing round, she saw Sasuke looking at her.

"Sakura-chan!"

At the sound of Naruto's cheerful call, her whole body tensed. She would have to see to his shoulder. There was no way out of it now.

"Sakura-chan, can you fix me up?" he asked. "It's stopped bleeding and all, but it catches when I try to move it like so," and he made a windmill motion with his arm, grimacing when he lifted it above his head.

"Of course it hurts if you swing it around like that! Don't move it so much," she scolded him. "I'll bandage it for you, but then you need to rest it."

"Thanks, Sakura-chan."

As she worked on Naruto's shoulder, swabbing the wound clean and disinfecting it, she was acutely aware that Sasuke was still watching her. It was starting to unnerve her, and she wondered briefly if he suspected her of being an impostor. Her hands were still shaking, and she accidentally splashed more iodine over her fingers and into the wound. Naruto winced.

"Be careful, Sakura-chan," he said playfully. "You're hurting me."

She flinched. "I'm sorry," she said, stoppering the disinfectant quickly and setting it down. As she picked up the bandages, she saw a rich red-black thread of iodine snaking down from the gash in Naruto's shoulder, and instantly her mind went back to the blood flowing from the Kirigakure kunoichi's throat. The bandages fell from her fingers, and she scrambled to her feet, knocking over the iodine bottle in her haste.

"Sasuke-kun, you do the rest," she said. Without waiting for a reply, she spun on her heel and fled. She heard Naruto calling her name as she reached the hatch, but she ignored him and hurried down the ladder, tears crowding at the backs of her eyes. She couldn't heal him, she couldn't. She was too frightened.

She stumbled into her cabin, and slammed the door behind her. As she shot the bolt, her knees gave way and she fell to the ground, weeping. She couldn't heal, she wasn't fit to heal anyone. If Tsunade-shishou knew what she had done –

Her gaze fell on her hands, and for a moment her heart seemed to shudder to a standstill. Her fingers – they were red – bright red, like freshly spilled blood – Frantically, she tried to rub the marks away, but they would not come out.

She was branded, she realised, branded for what she was. Not a healer, not a med-nin, but a murderer. She was responsible for the death of that girl. She and she alone had killed her. She saw the kunoichi's dim pleading eyes again – the blood flowing from her throat – the convulsion –

At last, her sobs quieted, and she knelt on the floor of her cabin, huddled and silent.

* * *

><p><strong>Notes which are of vague relevance<strong>

The _keirakukei_ is the chakra network within the body, which the byakugan can see. The technique of sending someone to sleep by overloading their chakra system is used by Kabuto on Kiba during the Chuunin Exams in manga chapter 103. Whilst on medical topics, an air embolism occurs when bubbles of air, or any other gas, are trapped within the bloodstream. The Kirigakure kunoichi in this chapter suffers a venous air embolism, where a fairly sizeable air bubble basically stops the flow of blood from her heart to her lungs.

Sakura's blizzard technique, also known as _Sakura Fubuki no Jutsu_, comes from the first Naruto movie, _Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow_, and involves dozens of minute exploding tags, cherry blossom petals, and a very respectable explosion.

The _hamanasu_ growing at the cove is a lovely pink rose, sometimes called the Japanese rose. It grows in coastal areas, and is the official flower of Hokkaido.


	5. All At Sea

Since it was minus -9°C this morning when I woke up (or 16°F) and the temperature barely got above freezing all day, I think I may be getting the hang of describing what it's like to be cold. Rather handy for this story, I feel. Now, if the clouds would just release their forecast snow, I could reacquaint myself with the feeling of being cold and snowed on, which would be even more useful.

Many thanks to my fantastic beta, Just Subliminal, for reading and suggesting improvements. Thank you also to everyone who has added the story to their favourites and alerts, and a big thank you to my reviewers. Your support and your feedback make me very happy!

* * *

><p>Chapter Five<p>

All At Sea

"You knock."

"No, you knock."

A pregnant pause of the sort that only the Uchiha were capable of delivering.

"Sai, won't you knock?"

"It was your idea, Naruto."

"Fine, fine, I'll do it!"

Naruto raised his hand, and then paused. "What if," he said, his voice strained, "she's crying?"

A shudder went through Sasuke. This was a possibility that he had not contemplated, and the idea of comforting a distraught and tearful Sakura left him feeling distinctly awkward. That was Kakashi's job, but he was back at the Alliance headquarters, Yamato was missing in action, and although Itachi and Shisui were the most senior shinobi of the small group, they were not part of Team Seven and therefore had no business dealing with Sakura.

"I read in a book that the best thing to do when a woman is crying –"

"Whoa, whoa," said Naruto hurriedly. "Which book is this? Not the one Kakashi-sensei loaned you?"

"Yes, it is," said Sai. "Why?"

"You probably shouldn't believe everything that book tells you," said Naruto. "Ero-sennin sometimes made things up." And didn't include the bits where his methods of comforting a woman earned him a slap to the face and a stiletto to the foot for inappropriate behaviour, he added silently.

So he was very definitely not going to comfort Sakura Icha Icha style. Even if she was crying.

He drew a deep breath, lifted his hand, and rapped at the door. "Sakura-chan?"

No reply.

"Sakura-chan?" he tried again. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." Her voice was small, muffled.

"Is there anything we can do?"

"No."

He paused. "Are you sure?"

There was the sound of footsteps padding across the cabin floor, and then the noise of the bolt being drawn back. A moment later, the door opened, and Sakura stood in the doorway, her face pale. Her eyes and the tip of her nose were red. "I'm fine," she said. "Don't worry about me."

Her gaze fell to Naruto's shoulder. "Is it bandaged?" she asked.

"Of course," he said. "By the way, you left this on deck." He held out the bottle of iodine.

She took it from him. "Thanks. Is Yamato-taichou –"

The boys shook their heads.

"I see," she said quietly. "Thank you for coming to check on me, but I really am all right, just tired. If you don't mind, I really want to sleep."

Sasuke opened his mouth to object, but then shut it again. There wasn't any point asking her what was bothering her at the moment. She simply wasn't going to tell them.

"No, it's all right, Sakura-chan," said Naruto. "You get some sleep."

She smiled wanly at them, and shut and locked the door again. They could hear her trailing barefoot across the cabin.

"There's something wrong with Sakura-chan," Naruto said as they emerged back on deck. "She's been acting strangely all day."

"You don't think she's a fake, do you?" asked Sai.

Naruto shook his head. "I know she isn't. But it's not like her to run away like she did earlier. She hadn't even finished bandaging me up."

Sasuke snorted. "So that's your problem," he said.

"She knows what she's doing, unlike you."

"Next time I'll just let you bleed out."

"I wasn't bleeding out."

"I didn't say you were."

As they made their way down the deck towards Itachi and Shisui, bickering, Sai looked from one to the other. After a moment's reflection, he said, "In the books Kakashi loaned me arguing like this usually ends in kisses and sex."

"Sex?" asked Shisui. "I haven't had any since the posting to Kirigakure."

Itachi looked at him. "That's sad, Shisui," he said.

"We don't all have your way with the women." Shisui heaved a mock sigh, but his eyes, fixed on Naruto and Sasuke, were sparkling with mischief. "Just look at these two young men here, so unlucky with the girls they've had to turn to each other for kisses and sex."

Naruto squawked and started trying to explain that Sai got all his knowledge about social interaction from inappropriate and inaccurate books, while Sasuke levelled a glare at Shisui that should have had him six feet under and possibly nicely charred as well.

"Speaking of women," Itachi said, "how is Sakura? She appeared to be distraught about something."

Naruto stopped in mid-protest. "I don't know," he said. "She says she's all right, but she doesn't look it."

"How so?"

Naruto shrugged. "She just – doesn't look right."

"She says she's tired and just needs to sleep," Sai added.

Itachi gazed off towards the shore, two small lines between his brows. Sasuke, watching him, thought he looked tired and worn, translucent blue shadows under his eyes. "Well," he said, "let's leave her be for now and see how she is by the evening." He turned back to Naruto and Sasuke. "So, why is your team in Water Country and where is this ship going to?"

"The Hokage sent us on a mission to Snow Country," Sasuke explained. "Kazahana Koyuki requested us herself."

"The princess?" Shisui said, startled. "What ever have you three done to be specially requested by the princess herself?"

"Only saved her life and her country once before," said Sasuke in an off-hand and indifferent tone.

"Oh, nothing much then."

"What is the mission?" Itachi asked. "Guarding the princess?"

Naruto shook his head. "We're to help her establish a ninja defence force to make the Snow Country safe."

Itachi looked at him. "I suppose that was going to be Yamato-sempai's job."

"Actually, she asked for Kakashi-sensei, but Tsunade-baachan can't spare him and sent Yamato-taichou instead."

"Makes sense," said Shisui. "Kakashi would be the logical choice as a military advisor. But now – no Kakashi, and no Yamato either. I don't suppose one of you happens to be an inspired strategist and tactician who is also very good at logistics? No?"

"We're not pulling out of the mission," said Naruto. He had his stubborn look, jaw set, eyes a bright blazing blue.

"No," said Itachi.

"Whatever you say, we're not pulling – wait, what?" Astonished, Naruto stared at Itachi, his mouth hanging open.

"I said that the mission is still on."

Naruto started to say something, but Itachi held up one hand and he fell abruptly silent. Itachi went on.

"We've received reports that Akatsuki was interested in the Snow Country, particularly in its giant generator. Something that has the capacity to produce enough power to release a country from ice and snow for six months each year could be devastating in their hands. Akatsuki and its army already seriously out-number the Alliance; we cannot afford to let them have the edge in technology as well."

"So who's going to arrange the defence force?" Sasuke asked.

"That should be obvious," said Shisui drily.

"You two?"

Sai chipped in. "Itachi-sempai and Shisui-sempai were both squad heads in the Allied division at Kirigakure. They know about organising troops and developing strategies."

"What about Yamato-taichou?" Naruto asked. "We ought to be out there, searching for him. We don't know that he's dead yet."

The others glanced back towards the land. The hills were bathed in the late afternoon sun, gold and brown. They looked completely empty. From the safety of the ship's deck, it was hard to believe that Akatsuki was roaming the island and killing whatever ninja they came across.

"We can't just abandon him," said Naruto again. He turned to Sai. "Can't you scout for him from the air?"

Shisui shook his head. "Sai's bird is too noticeable. We don't want to draw the enemy's attention and lead them to the cove."

Naruto growled in frustration. "But Yamato-taichou –"

"I can send out a number of smaller ink birds to scout," Sai said quickly. "They'll cover a lot of ground without being detected, and even if they are noticed, they can dissolve into ink at once."

Naruto beamed, a wave of relief flooding over him. "Thanks, Sai!"

"Go ahead, Sai," said Itachi. "It will be useful to know how many of the enemy they come across. If there is no sign of Yamato-sempai and the others, though, it's better for us to leave here before nightfall. Now that Akatsuki has control of the main island of the Water Country, they have an easy launching point for an attack on the Snow Country. The sooner we get there the better."

x

Sakura sat on her bed, her chin resting on her knees which she had drawn up to her chest. In her hands was the little green doll, which she turned over and over, her actions monotonous, repetitive. Her eyes gazed blankly at some invisible scene unfolding before her.

After a little, her hands stilled and the doll drooped from them. The evening light in the cabin deepened to gold before it flushed pink, and then, slowly, began to dim and fade.

There was a knock at the door. "Sakura?"

At the sound of Sasuke's voice, she stirred, coming back to herself from the limitless realms her mind had been wandering in. He knocked again, and as she got to her feet, she became aware of cramps in her limps and an ache in the small of her back. Her whole body felt heavy and tired.

She opened the door and looked into Sasuke's eyes. His gaze seemed unusually intense, almost anxious. "Yes?" she asked quietly.

"It's supper time," he said. "Are you coming to eat?"

"I –" She stopped, looked down at her bare feet. "I don't know. I feel awfully tired still."

Sasuke frowned. "You haven't eaten anything all day," he said. "If you don't eat, you'll feel even more tired."

Sakura rubbed the big toe of one foot along the instep of the other. "I'm not all that hungry."

"Rubbish," said Sasuke. "There's something bothering you, isn't there? That's the trouble."

She looked up at him, suddenly on edge. Did he know what she had done? Did he know that she was a fraud, a med nin who killed her patients instead of curing them?

You're being ridiculous, Inner Sakura observed. You made a mistake. Stop being such a drama queen.

"There is something wrong, isn't there?" Sasuke asked. His eyes were sharp, moving over her face inch by inch, scrutinising and studying her so closely that she felt as though all her thoughts and feelings and secrets would be laid bare before his searching gaze. She felt her face heating up.

"I – I –" she stammered, "I – it's just it's been a long day and things didn't go so well."

That was true enough, she thought. She drew a deep breath and went on. "Anyway, you're right. I'll probably feel much better once I've eaten. Let's go to supper, Sasuke-kun." She gave him one of her biggest, brightest smiles. "I'll just put my shoes on and then we can go."

"Don't take forever," he said.

"It's just shoes, Sasuke-kun."

"Hn."

Boots back on, she joined Sasuke in the corridor. "What? Still here, Sasuke-kun?" she said teasingly, feeling her spirits rising again.

"Come on," he said. "We're going to be late."

As she followed Sasuke back up the ladder onto deck, Sakura noticed for the first time that the junk was rolling and rocking from side to side, as though out in deep water. Climbing onto deck, she glanced to the landward side of the ship and was surprised to see instead of the cliffs towering above the cove a distant dark mass lying low against the luminous blue twilight sky.

If they were at sea again, Yamato-taichou must have made it, she thought, and she felt much lighter, a sense of relief tingling through her body. Things were going to be all right after all.

The lamps in the galley were lit, casting a cheery yellow light onto the deck through the open door. The smell of warm food wafted out with the light, and Sakura's stomach rumbled. Sasuke cast her a sideways glance, clearly amused.

As she entered the galley, Naruto swung round, his face breaking into a delighted smile. "Sakura-chan!"

She smiled back, then turned to the others seated round the long table, seeking out Yamato's familiar hooded eyes and close cropped hair, but he was not there. She paused, counted again, the smile falling from her face.

"Where is Yamato-taichou?" she asked.

Naruto glanced down, and the bottom of her stomach seemed to drop out. "You left him behind," she said. It was more an accusation than a statement.

"Yes, we did," said Itachi. His eyes, dark and steady, met hers. "Sai scouted for him, but there was no sign of him, nor of any of the others. Under the circumstances, putting out to sea was safer than waiting at the cove."

Sakura clenched her fists. "What if he was waiting till cover of nightfall to cross the hills?"

Itachi still held her gaze. "We can't wait, Sakura," he said. "Your mission to the Snow Country has become one of extreme urgency. It's critical to the survival of the Alliance. Yamato-sempai is one man, Sakura. Would you risk the entire shinobi world for the sake of a single individual?"

"Kakashi-sensei wouldn't abandon him," she said. "You know what he says. Those who disobey the rules –"

"I am not Kakashi-san," said Itachi. "Being a shinobi means that you sometimes have to make difficult choices. You have to decide what is more important – the success of the mission or your comrades' lives. Every choice you make is a gamble, based on what you hope the outcome will be, but in the end, they all come down to your faith and belief in your companions. Nobody wanted to leave Yamato-sempai behind, but we have faith that he will be strong enough to get himself and the other refugees to safety."

Sakura bit her lip. She glanced at Naruto, wondering that he of all people could agree to this.

"Itachi is right, Sakura-chan," he said. "We have a responsibility to protect the Snowy Country from falling into Akatsuki's power. I would much rather spend the night searching for Yamato-taichou, but – well, just because I want to do it doesn't mean that it's the right choice."

Sakura sighed, and her quick anger drained away, leaving her feeling deflated. "I suppose you're right," she said. "But I'm with Naruto on this," she added, looking hard at Itachi and Shisui. "I don't want to leave Yamato-taichou behind. What difference would a few hours more have made?"

Itachi said nothing, and Sakura knew that as far as he was concerned, the matter was over, and she had enough experience with Sasuke to know that there was no point trying to keep arguing. Pig-headed Uchiha, she thought.

She sat down beside Naruto. "So," she said, "tell me why our mission has suddenly become so important. And someone please pass me a plate. I'm starving."

x

Snow Country lay several hundred miles to the north of the Water Country archipelago, a great island cut off from the other lands by the turbulent northern sea. For most of the year, a massive ice sheet covered the island's interior and snow covered the rest, but every spring, the daimyo Kazahana Koyuki travelled to the most southerly of the glaciers and turned the country's giant generator on.

Team Seven had been there the first time it had happened, and still remembered the extraordinary transformation of the land, as ice and snow gave way to grass and flowers. It had been like magic: first the slow melt, the wisps of steam rising, the water running – but they had hardly noticed this, caught up in their fight with the usurper Dotou – and then had come the rainbow light projected from the great pillars surrounding the generator's core, which they _had_ noticed, and within minutes of that, the land had warmed so quickly that Sakura wondered whether the snow and ice had sublimated and turned straight into water vapour. And _then_ there had been the real miracle, when the grass pushed up through the soil in moments, stretching up towards the sunshine and rippling in the breeze.

Of course, the miracle could not last, and every autumn, the daimyo returned to the Rainbow Glacier, and turned the generator off for the winter. Then the ice returned, the great central glaciers resuming their march south, the winter blizzards swept in, and the island gave itself up to the storms and the long winter night.

Three months without sunshine, Sakura thought as she lay in bed, staring at the ceiling of her cabin. Three months where the sun never rose. It was unimaginable. How did people manage without daylight?

"Well, we'll find out soon enough," she said to herself, and sat up.

Half an hour later, washed and dressed, she made her way onto deck. Itachi and Shisui were already up, and she frowned at the sight of them. She crossed to the starboard rail, putting her back towards them, and looked out at the ice floes instead. They stretched as far as she could see, white shapes in the slow-swelling rolls of the sea. Some were small and flat, drifting rafts of ice where seals might haul out and rest. Some were large blocks rising several feet above the water, and others like miniature mountain peaks. There were long sloping shelves of ice that ended in sharp points and ice overhangs carved out by the pounding of the waves. The water was a very dark blue except for the areas of brilliant turquoise where it flowed over ice.

They had passed an iceberg the day before, great white cliffs towering above them, their faces split and gouged with fissures and the scars left from great slabs of ice shearing off and slipping into the waves. The sky had been clear, and the low rays of the sun bathed the berg in glory, so that it glowed, luminous against the sky. When they rounded it, they had seen the far side steeped in soft blue shadow. In kind weather, this icy sea was a magical place, a world of glittering white and every shade of blue imaginable.

Now clouds were building in the sky, a dark bank lying heavy in the northeast. They looked ominous even at this distance, and Sakura found herself wishing they were already safely ashore. She could see the mass on the horizon that was the Snow Country, but it was under the cloudbank and looked less than inviting. For a moment she found herself wishing that they were heading back to the Fire Country and home, but then she remembered that Yamato would not be with them, and a quick hot anger rose within her. Her fingers clenched on the railing for a moment, her knuckles whitening, and then she fought the anger down. They were two days' sail away from the northernmost of the Water Country islands, and a further two from the cove. There was no going back now.

"Sakura-chan!"

It was Shisui. She debated ignoring him briefly, but common sense won out. He and Itachi were, after all, the leaders of their team now. She turned to face him.

He grinned down at her. "Sakura-chan, we're going to get breakfast. Are you going to join us?"

"I'm all right at the moment, thanks," she said. She would far rather wait out her hunger pangs until her boys were up. Whilst she ought to be civil to Itachi, there was no need for her to be around him more often than necessary.

Shisui frowned at her response. "You're avoiding Itachi," he said. "You're still angry about Yamato-sempai, aren't you?"

Sakura glanced away. "He did what he thought was best," she said.

"Yes, he did," said Shisui. "Do you know what the situation was when we left?"

Sakura looked up at him. "Yes, I do," she snapped, and Shisui's eyes narrowed. "Itachi-san told me himself. There was no sign of Yamato-taichou, nor of the others. He still could have waited till nightfall."

Shisui shook his head. "There was no sign of them, yes, but what Itachi didn't tell you was that there were Zetsu on the cliff above the cove. We got out of there just in time. If we'd stayed even fifteen minutes longer, we would likely all be dead."

"But Naruto said –"

"You know Naruto, Sakura," Shisui cut in. "He has no comprehension of insurmountable odds, and solves everything by shouting and rushing in. _He_ was quite happy to take on the Zetsu, despite being wounded and almost out of chakra. How well do you think he'd have done? How well do you think any of us would have done?"

"Naruto never gives up," Sakura said. "And he doesn't always shout and charge straight in – he _stopped_ everyone from going after Pain's real body to kill him. He went to _talk_ to him."

"That is not the point here," said Shisui. "The point is that it was either stay and fight and die heroically but in vain, or put out to sea and try to salvage something out of the wreckage of our mission and your mission. Why do you think Shikamaru was the first of your age group to be promoted to chuunin? He knows when to take risks and when to retreat, which is a concept not a single one of Team Seven has managed to get their heads around yet, and yes, that includes you. None of us are any use to the Alliance dead."

Sakura glared at him. "I know that," she said. "So why didn't Itachi-san say that we were almost surrounded? Why didn't anybody tell me?"

Shisui gave a wry grin. "Ah, Itachi," he said. "For all his genius, he can be awkward at times."

"I know that too," Sakura muttered.

Shisui went on as if he hadn't heard her. "If you want to know why he didn't tell you, Sakura-chan, it's because he feels responsible for leaving Yamato-sempai behind, and so he's prepared to let the rest of you be angry with him, because he feels he deserves it. It's his way of atoning for abandoning a fellow shinobi."

Sakura blinked. "But that's just stupid," she said.

Shisui shrugged. "It's what Itachi does. He feels responsible for everyone and everything, and when things go wrong he feels guilty as hell and wants to take all the blame."

Sakura blinked again. It made some sort of very twisted sense, she admitted to herself, which was only to be expected, given that he was the brother of Sasuke. Stupid Uchiha pride, she thought. Or was it just the male ego? She wasn't sure. She glanced towards the galley, where Itachi was probably wondering why Shisui was taking so long to come to breakfast.

Shisui followed her gaze. "So, are you joining us?" he asked.

"Sure," Sakura said. "I'm starting to feel hungry."

Shisui grinned. "Itachi will be so happy to see you," he said as they walked along the deck. "He was starting to feel quite lonely, the way you gave him the cold shoulder and all. He's just a poor shrinking violet after all."

Sakura snorted. "Poor shrinking violet," she said as Shisui opened the galley door for her. "I don't believe a word of it."

"That is generally a good idea whenever Shisui is involved," said Itachi.

"He's right, you know," said Shisui cheerfully. "And now we are presented with a paradox."

Sakura and Itachi looked at him.

"If Itachi is right, and you should not believe whatever I say, then you should not believe me when I say he is right that I am not to be believed – and if you don't believe that he is right, then he must be wrong and I am to be believed – but then my statement that he is right that I am not to be believed must be wrong and therefore must be disbelieved."

"Well done, Shisui," said Itachi. "Ten points for an elaborate mental gymnastics routine before breakfast."

"Someone's got to keep you on your toes, Itachi," Shisui pointed out. "Wouldn't want that finely-honed mind of yours to go dull now. Consider it a special service, free of charge."

"Indeed."

Sakura picked up her chopsticks and helped herself to several rice balls from the platter in the centre, whilst the back-and-forth of Itachi and Shisui's banter washed over her. Now that she knew why they had put out to sea when they did, she felt rather foolish for resenting Itachi, though she did think that _someone_ could have told her about the Zetsu on the cliffs. She would just have to get hold of one of the boys at the first possible opportunity and ask them.

Still, to think that Itachi of all people could be so dense – She looked across the table at him, solemn and self-possessed as he fielded Shisui's incorrigible teasing. He had the same stoical expression as his brother, that same inscrutable façade that masked whatever thoughts and feelings were passing through their minds. Sometimes she wondered whether Sasuke could recognise his feelings, he was so good at suppressing the outward signs of emotion. The same probably applied to his brother.

Itachi suddenly turned to look at her and caught her staring. She quickly dropped her eyes, her face hot and tingling.

"Sakura," he said, and she glanced back up at him.

"Yes?" she squeaked.

"Shisui tells me that you have a _marimokkori_ on your satchel because of my brother."

Sakura paused, aware of an unexpected abyss opening up before her. Beside her, Shisui leered happily at her. It was the sort of leer of which Jiraiya himself would have been proud.

Itachi went on. "What might the nature of your relationship be that you carry a fertility charm around?"

Sakura could feel herself slowly turning crimson in one of those full-body blushes that starts at the stomach and spreads. "I – uh – a what?" she said. "A fertility charm?"

"I believe that is why it is called a _marimokkori_," Itachi said, deliberately stressing the last three syllables.

The blush quickened, sweeping across her chest and starting to climb her neck. "It's not like that at all –" she began, but a squawk from the door made her whip round to see Naruto and Sasuke at the threshold, looking aghast. Behind them, Sai was wholly unperturbed.

"What are you two filthy-minded perverts trying to do to Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked.

"Nothing at all," said Shisui. "Itachi is just asking her about the nature of her relationship with Sasuke."

Sasuke looked horror-struck. "Our relationship?" he asked.

Shisui nodded. "It would seem that you're not quite man enough for her, Sasuke, as she has a charm against erec-"

Her face flaming scarlet, Sakura shot forward and clapped one hand over his mouth. "No, no, no," she said fiercely. "Shisui-san, I cannot allow you to traumatise Sasuke-kun any further."

Shisui simply grinned up at her, his dark eyes dancing with mischief.

"Sakura's right," said Itachi. "It might blow his mind. Poor boy. He never did have many hormones to begin with."

"A charm against what?" Naruto asked suspiciously.

"Never you mind," said Sakura.

"A charm against what?" Naruto demanded again. Sasuke cast him a nervous glance.

"I think Shisui-sempai was going to say 'erectile dysfunction'," said Sai.

Silence descended upon the galley as every eye turned Sasuke's way.

Sasuke stood frozen to the spot, a glazed expression on his face as his mind worked overtime to convince him that he had not heard what his ears had just heard. After all, he had had plenty of practice distinguishing reality from illusion, thanks to his older brother volunteering him for sharingan genjutsu target practice, and as Sai could clearly not have said what he just said, it must have been a genjutsu and thus unreal.

At which point, Naruto burst into loud and raucous laughter.

Sakura waited with baited breath for Sasuke to snap and punch Naruto, but to her surprise, he did nothing of the sort. Instead, he walked slowly and deliberately to the table and seated himself beside her. Completely ignoring Naruto, he turned to her. "Please pass the rice balls," he said.

Sakura wondered if she should commend him for his remarkable restraint and tolerance in the face of Naruto's laughter, but decided that it would be wisest to just pass the platter down the table to him.

As Sasuke helped himself to the rice balls, he reflected that life was so much more pleasant when he believed that Naruto was a genjutsu too.

x

A thick fog lay on Mizushima. It rolled in from the sea, a dense white blanket that poured over the headlands and fell quietly over the city. It was hard to see more than a couple of yards in the drifting cloud; beyond that, even buildings were simply looming dark shadows that faded into the fog.

The gate guards were uneasy. It was impossible to see anyone coming, and there were stories of roving bands of enemy soldiers told by the refugees arriving in the city. Strange soldiers too, naked men with pallid skins. There were rumours too that they could turn into gigantic plants, and transform themselves into perfect copies of whomever they touched.

There was a hint of movement on the road. The guards strained their eyes, staring through the fog. Dark shapes took form in the cloud, and one of the guards raised his crossbow.

"Stop right there!" he said. "Who are you?"

"We're seeking shelter," came the reply. "Our village was attacked and burned by white soldiers and we've got nowhere else to go."

"Which village?"

"Ogawa."

"How many of you are there?"

"Nine. Two are badly wounded – they need to see a doctor soon."

The guards exchanged a glance. "Come forward, slowly. Keep your hands where we can see them."

The group of refugees advanced a few steps and then stopped again. A quick headcount assured the guards that the numbers indeed matched up. Two women, one of them little more than a girl, and seven men, all of them filthy and drooping with exhaustion. The two biggest men were carrying the injured on their backs.

"Please let us in," said the girl. Her voice quivered. "We're so tired and hungry and you have no idea how frightening it is out there. There are these strange white soldiers –"

"Yes, we know about them." The guard lowered his crossbow. "Come on in. The refugees are gathered in the town hall. Just turn right at the big crossroads and follow the main road to the top of the hill. You can't miss the hall – it's the building with the tree growing out of the roof."

"A tree?" asked the man next to the girl.

"Yeah, a tree," said the other guard. "One of those damn ninja." He hawked and spat. "I'm glad we've got rid of them."

"Oh, yes," said the man. "Ninja are no use in a real fight."

"Murderous treacherous cowards," the guard said. "Sneaking around killing people and saying it's their job. But didn't they beg for their lives when they found themselves on the end of our crossbows?"

"Best place for them. The only ninja you can trust is a dead ninja."

"Exactly." The guard stepped aside. "Anyway, on you go. There's a hot meal waiting for you in the town hall."

Thanking the guards, the refugees limped through the gates. Once they were out of earshot, the young girl turned to the man next to her and said, "A tree?"

"It was necessary at the time," he said.

She looked amused, but then the smile fell from her face. "What did they mean, they've got rid of their ninja?"

He looked uncomfortable. "The citizens of this country don't like shinobi very much," he said. "The Fourth Mizukage was overthrown at the end of a long and bloody civil war, which caught up civilians as well as ninja. So after the war –"

"Spare me the history lesson, taichou," said the girl. "What did they mean about getting rid of their ninja?"

"It means that these ungrateful bastards have lynched the shinobi stationed here for their protection," said one of the men carrying the wounded. His jaw was clenched, and his pulse beat strongly in the side of his neck. "God, I hate civilian cities. They say _we're_ treacherous, and then they murder their garrisons as soon as they hear that Kiri is in enemy hands."

The others blanched, glancing around to see if anyone had heard. "Keep it down," hissed the older woman. "Kohaku, stop asking questions, and, Kaito, remember we're all civilian refugees."

The Mist nin subsided, but his jaw remained tight and his face was dark with anger.

"What do we do now, Yamato-taichou?" one of the others asked.

"We'd best avoid the town hall," Yamato said. "Let's head down to the docks – I know somewhere we can eat and rest."

"What about these two?" Kaito asked. "They need a doctor."

Yamato shook his head. "We can't risk it. Once we've reached the waterfront, I'll take another look at them and do whatever I can."

Kaito sighed. "It's a pity that your med nin isn't here. We could really do with her now."

A crease appeared between Yamato's eyebrows as he nodded. Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto – where were they now? He hoped that they had put out to sea, that they had not waited in vain at the cove for him to arrive and then come ashore again to look for him. The idea of the three of them trying to fight their way through the masses of Zetsu roaming the hills left him in a cold sweat. It had been hard enough to make it back to Mizushima – so many ambushes, so many pursuits. The third Mist nin and Hayase, one of the Konoha chuunin, had been lost on the way, dead or alive, nobody knew.

He turned to the boy beside him. "I hope that the three of them got away safely," he said. "If Naruto dies, we're all as good as dead."

"Don't worry, taichou. I told you that they made it to the ship after meeting up with Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui. They'll take good care of them," said Sai, and smiled.

* * *

><p><strong>Notes of a moderately interesting but also repetitive nature<strong>

Firstly, the repetitive stuff. In case you have not read the notes at the bottom of chapter two, or have read but forgotten them, the _marimokkori_, or little green doll that Sakura has been carrying around, is a humanoid algae ball, with a name that puns on the algae (_marimo_) and the fact that he is - ahem - aroused (_mokkori_). Hence Itachi's teasing of Sakura, and Shisui's of Sasuke.

As for the moderately interesting part, the descriptions of the Snow Country and the icebergs, etc, etc, are inspired by Sir David Attenborough's _Frozen Planet_, which is well worth watching - penguins, polar bears, killer whales, reindeer proving that deer can ice skate too, glaciers grinding down mountains on their way to the sea, frozen waterfalls, frost crystals growing inside an active volcano, the starfish and icefish and sea urchins living under the Antarctic ice sheet, the tundra in summer and the taiga in winter, and all of it exquisitely filmed. I have now watched it often enough that I confess that as I wrote the description of the turquoise colour of the water flowing over ice, I could only pronounce it "tur-kwahz".


	6. The Land of Snow

So I complained about the lack of snow despite the cold - and the next day, the weather gods relented, and it snowed. Not quite enough for a snowman, but more than enough for a snow fight. So much fun!

Thanks to my anonymous and un-PM-able reviewers K-H and Sakura fan, as well as to my beta, Just Subliminal, who is really just awesome for giving me a lot of help with the second half of this chapter. I'm really happy that people are enjoying my portrayal of Sakura, as I want to capture her strength and conviction from the first part of Shippuuden. Her passionate determination has made her one of my favourite characters. Anyway, enough of me. On to the story!

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><p>Chapter Six<p>

The Land of Snow

As the junk came into the harbour, Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura were on deck to catch their first glimpse of the Snow Country since their mission there. Three years later, it looked much the same: cold, white, lonely. Although tourists came every year to see the Rainbow Glacier and the wildflowers in spring thanks to the final Princess Fuun movie, most of them left again in the autumn when the generator was shut down and the snows returned. Now, only a few ships remained in the harbour. A handful of motorised vehicles stood on the shore.

"It's snowing," said Naruto. He stuck out his tongue to catch the slowly falling flakes.

"It's kind of sad," Sakura said. "I'd have liked to come here in the summer and see the grass and the flowers. Arriving in this weather, it feels like three years ago."

"Hn." Sasuke adjusted his high shirt collar. A cloud of steam rose as he breathed out.

"It looks cold," said Sai, as he joined them on deck.

"It's only going to get colder," said Sakura. "Have you got gloves?"

Sai held up his hands.

"I mean other than the ones without fingers."

"Oh, yes," said Sai. "All members of the division stationed at Kirigakure received a full winter outfit. We were told they have cold, snowy winters in the Water Country."

"Snowy, huh?" said Naruto. His eyes lost focus as he gazed at the mountainous coastline. "There's this village I want to visit there one day."

The four young ninja stood in silence, watching as the junk came alongside the quay. A hawser was tossed overboard to a man waiting onshore, who caught it and lashed it round a mooring bollard. A moment later, the ship bumped up against the quay.

"Sasuke-kun, should we tell your brother and Shisui-san that we've arrived?" Sakura asked.

"No need."

"They know everything," added Naruto. "It's some freaky Uchiha sense that they have. Nowhere is safe."

"I hope you weren't maligning us, Naruto-kun," said Itachi's voice directly behind them, and Naruto and Sakura both jumped. Sasuke simply looked long-suffering.

Shisui suddenly appeared in front of them, grinning wickedly. "Maybe they were maligning _you_, Itachi, but they'd never have anything bad to say about _me_. Isn't that right, Sasuke-chan?"

"Hn," said Sasuke.

Shisui heaved a sigh. "You poor boy," he said mournfully. "You've been spending far too much time around the family. At this rate, you'll lose the ability to speak altogether, and will have to communicate through a series of caveman grunts."

"At least they'll be eloquent," said Sasuke.

"My word." Shisui raised his eyebrows. "He speaks. There's hope for you yet, Sasuke-chan."

Naruto fought to stifle a snort of laughter.

The ship's captain approached the ninja. "Itachi-dono, Shisui-dono," he said. "It seems your bird reached the daimyo yesterday – the palace guard is here to welcome you." He gestured towards the shore, where a white vehicle emblazoned with the figure-of-eight crest of the Kazahana clan had just drawn up. As the shinobi watched, the doors opened and two men dressed in orange and saffron and a woman in a long lavender dress got out of it.

Itachi turned back to the captain. "Thank you for a pleasant voyage," he said. "On behalf of Konoha, I would like to express my gratitude for your co-operation and willingness to take risks to help us." Reaching into his haversack, he pulled out his wallet, and counted out a sheaf of five-hundred-_ryō_ notes. "Please accept our thanks."

The captain raised his hands in protest. "We were only doing our job," he said.

Itachi held out the money. "Nonetheless, we are grateful."

Bowing, the captain took the notes. "It was a pleasure, Itachi-dono," he said. "Please enjoy your time in the Snow Country."

Sakura wished they would hurry up the formalities. Even though this was only a light fall of snow, it was still cold, and standing around doing nothing was not a warming activity. She would be very happy to get off the junk and into that white snow vehicle, though she did wonder briefly if all six of them as well as the guards would fit. It did not look very big – perhaps Itachi's message had neglected to mention the change of team members and Koyuki was only expecting Team Seven and Yamato.

A pang went through her, and she blinked back the sudden tears that sprang to her eyes. She had to have faith that Yamato-taichou was still alive, that he had somehow made it off the island. Tsunade-shishou had said that he was one of the best in ANBU, and he _had_ got them safely out of Orochimaru's hideout. She just had to have faith.

Seeking a distraction from her thoughts, she watched as the crew lowered the gangplank, hoping that this was a sign they would be off the ship soon. The tip of her nose and her ears felt as though the cold was biting into them, and she made a private resolution to pick up some earmuffs as soon as she could. Fluffy earmuffs in hot pink. The boys would tease her, but earmuffs were one stage better than her little green _marimokkori_, at least.

With relief, she heard Itachi and the captain exchange parting civilities, and she turned back in time to bow with the rest of her team. "Thank you very much," she said, then straightened up and followed Itachi and Shisui down the gangplank and onto the quay.

As they approached the guards and the woman waiting for them, Sakura wondered whether they were expecting six ninja, and only three of them the ninja asked for. However, if they were surprised, it did not show.

As the shinobi reached them, the woman stepped forward and bowed courteously.

"Welcome to the Snow Country," she said. "I am Yukika, Koyuki-hime's lady-in-waiting. Which of you is the team leader?"

Itachi inclined his head. "Uchiha Itachi," he said. "This is my vice-captain, Uchiha Shisui."

A faint flush appeared on Yukika's cheeks as she looked from one to the other. "Two of the clan famous for its skill in battle. Koyuki-hime will be pleased that such strong ninja have come." She paused, her gaze resting on the four younger ninja. "Which of you is Uzumaki Naruto-kun? Koyuki-hime is particularly eager to see you again."

Naruto jerked to attention. "That's me," he said. "How is Koyuki-neechan?"

Yukika looked startled for an instant, and then a frown fleeted across her face. "Koyuki-_hime_ is well," she said, emphasising the honorific – a wasted effort, Sakura thought, as Naruto did not have a formal bone in his body – and turned back to Itachi and Shisui. "Please come with me. The princess has been awaiting your arrival anxiously."

As they followed Yukika and the guards back to the vehicle – a snow bus, that was what Sandayuu and Koyuki had called it – Sakura glanced at Naruto through the drifting flakes. He was watching the woman, his brows drawn together and his mouth set. Ah, she thought. He did notice her snub. I wonder if he knows why. Probably not – I'll just have to explain to him. Oh, I'm so cold – this snow is getting heavier – I hope the snow bus is warm.

It was, blissfully warm. The compartment where the passengers travelled was positively luxurious, with comfortable chairs along the walls, and its own heating. Happily ensconced in one of the chairs near the window, Sakura put all thoughts of talking to Naruto out of her head whilst she thawed, and listened instead to Yukika talking to Itachi and Shisui.

"Koyuki-hime was given to understand that although Hatake Kakashi-san was not available for the mission, he would be replaced by someone of equivalent skill and experience."

"That is true," said Itachi.

"We are a small country without a powerful military," Yukika said, "and the Water Country has been a threat to us in the past. It is important to us that you shinobi are capable of protecting us in this war."

Itachi nodded gravely, a look of polite interest on his face. Shisui had a carefully blank expression.

Yukika paused, her eyes going from one to the other. Sakura thought that she was trying to decide whether or not Itachi and Shisui were likely to tell her anything at all.

"Of course, you already know this," she said, evidently giving it up as a bad job, and Sakura turned aside to hide her smile.

"I didn't know that Shisui-san had a poker face," she murmured to Sasuke.

Sasuke glanced at his cousin. "He's very good at it," he said. "He gets lots of practice at home."

On Sasuke's other side, Sai nodded sagely. "I have noticed the Uchiha tend not to be very expressive."

Sakura was more than half expecting Naruto to chip in with a quip about Sasuke and sticks, and was surprised when he did not. Looking at him, she saw that he was gazing out the window, his chin propped on one hand. There were two small creases between his brows.

He's bothered, she thought, but what is it? It can't be what Yukika said to him – he's got a hide as thick as a rhinoceros' – so what is it?

She leaned towards him. "Naruto?" she said quietly. "Naruto, is something bothering you?"

He glanced at her, then across at Itachi, Shisui and Yukika. "Hush, Sakura-chan. I'm listening to them." He turned back to the window, his eyes losing focus again. The two small lines on his forehead deepened.

Rebuffed, Sakura drew back. If Naruto did not want to talk – well, Sasuke was a lost cause, and although Sai could hold up his end of a conversation, he was not exactly chatty. It looked like her entertainment was going to have to be Yukika's attempts at conversation with Itachi and Shisui. Sinking back in her seat, she gave a small sigh, letting her head loll against the headrest. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the mark of the curse seal on Sasuke's shoulder.

It was quiet now, looking as innocent as a bruise. She hoped it would not trouble him again on the mission, though – Her thoughts paused, flashed back a week to Mizushima and the fog-filled alleyway behind Tadashi's apartment. What was it he had said? Ah, yes. _The councillors told us that a Snow Country ship would be putting into port soon and that it would have an Uchiha on it._ Someone knew of their mission, someone who wanted an Uchiha –

Orochimaru. It could only be Orochimaru. Shisui had thought so, and Itachi – what had Itachi thought?

She frowned. No, she shouldn't worry about that. The problem was not what others had thought or suspected. It was that information about their mission had been leaked, and that someone had ambushed them in Mizushima. Now that she thought about it, was it a coincidence that Sasuke's seal had played up when it did? He _did_ say that woman had been particularly interested in the seal – could she have activated it somehow? She knew it could be done – Anko said that when she had tracked Orochimaru down in the Forest of Death, he had controlled her seal – but this was beyond a simple burst of pain – that red, pulsing mass writhing and struggling to break its bounds –

Sakura shuddered. She hated that seal, hated it almost as much as she hated Orochimaru. Sasuke's screams as Orochimaru bit him and the curse mark appeared on his neck still haunted her dreams, so that she sometimes woke bathed in sweat and shaking all over. She should have done something at the time – should have taken a kunai and hacked at that long snaky neck, and maybe, just maybe, she could have stopped him, that monster, and then Sasuke would be whole and the Third would still be alive – but she had done nothing, just stood and stared like a fool, and now Sasuke carried within him an enzyme that slowly degraded his body. No wonder his parents had been so angry with the Third Hokage, no wonder they had wanted to pull Sasuke out of Team Seven. What sort of a teammate had she been then? She had failed to protect him. _She had done nothing_.

Her fingers flexed, and she clenched them into fists, nails biting into her palms. Stop goading yourself, she said sternly. Stop it, you fool. Perhaps you could have done more at the time, but you didn't. If you want to protect Sasuke-kun, protect him now. Someone is after him, and may follow us all the way here; after all, they knew we were on a ship from the Snow Country. If his seal acts up again, then you know that whoever they are, they're close.

And if his seal acts up I'll have to heal him, the other part of her whispered. Unbidden, images came crowding in on her – blood pooling under that kunoichi's head – her hand clutching at her chest – her frightened, pleading eyes –

Sakura clenched her fists even tighter, her knuckles whitening as she forced the images from her mind. Only when her palms began to sting did she let her fingers uncurl and turned her attention back to Yukika, who was still talking.

"Our spring melt is beautiful," she was saying. "Most people come for the flowers, but the real beauty is further inland, on the ice sheet itself. Lakes form there, of the most exquisite blue. You have never seen a colour so pure, so bright, so – so intense. And after a while, they grow so big that they overflow and the water spills into great carved channels of ice." She paused for a moment, perhaps thinking of how best to describe the scene, and then went on.

"From above, it is breathtaking – torrents of fresh, fresh water rushing across the ice until they come to the crevasses and plunge into them. They just disappear into darkness. Nobody knows where they go."

Waterfalls that disappeared under the ice – Sakura felt gooseflesh at the thought of being poised on the ice face beside all those tons of water falling into the deeps hundreds upon hundreds of feet below.

"Er – what's a crevasse, neechan?" Naruto asked abruptly. He was no longer gazing out the window, but sitting up and looking directly at Yukika, an expression of intense interest on his face.

Yukika raised her eyebrows, and for a moment Sakura thought she might reprimand Naruto for his familiarity. Then her features rearranged themselves into a smile. "A crevasse, Uzumaki-kun, is a crack in an ice sheet or a glacier. They're very deep, so deep that nobody who falls into one survives."

She looked back at Itachi and Shisui. "If you go out onto the Rainbow Glacier, be careful," she said. "There are many crevasses and not all of them are easily seen, especially in the dark when the winter storms are blowing."

"Yukika-san?" Sakura asked. "What is it like, going without the sun for three months of the year?"

"Three months?" Yukika laughed. "The night is not _that_ long, though the days are very short, and after a while, there is no real daylight, just twilight. It's not that bad. Besides, when the nights are long, you have your best chance of seeing the aurora – lights in the sky," she explained, glancing out the window as she spoke. "Please excuse me," she said, rising to her feet and smoothing her dress. "I must send a message ahead to the palace to let them know when we are arriving."

She bowed, then left the compartment in a rustle of silk. As the door slid shut behind her, Shisui let his careful, composed expression fall, and his delighted grin broke out. "Poor woman," he said. "You shouldn't tease her so, Itachi. I could almost see the smoke of frustration billowing from her ears when you wouldn't tell her anything."

"Like you're one to speak," said Sasuke snidely. "You were enjoying every minute of it. I saw you."

"Me?" said Shisui. "I'm just the vice-captain. Nobody wants to talk to the vice-captain."

Itachi gave him a sidelong look, one eyebrow raised.

"Well, perhaps they do," Shisui conceded, running his fingers through his dark curls. "After all, my charms are manifold and hard to resist." He winked at Sakura, who flushed and turned quickly to Naruto. He was frowning openly now, his eyes still fixed on the door through which Yukika had departed.

"Naruto?" Sakura asked. "Is something the matter?"

"I don't like her," he said.

Sakura nodded inwardly. Of course. "She's only acting like that because you're using an inappropriate form of address for her and for Koyuki-san," she began. "_Neechan_ is too familiar for a lady-in-waiting."

"Yes, yes, Sakura-chan," he broke in. "I don't really care about boring stuff like that."

"If you want to be Hokage, you need to know boring stuff," said Sakura, speaking now from what she considered to be her privileged and experienced position as the Fifth Hokage's apprentice, saké-hider, paperwork-filer, tea-brewer, and general dogsbody. "Tsunade-shishou spends a lot of time talking to people –"

"And she calls me a brat most of the time," Naruto said. "That's not polite."

"Neither is calling her _baachan_."

Naruto shrugged. "Anyway, that's not the point. I don't like this woman. I don't like the way she looks at me."

Sakura opened her mouth and then shut it again. "Oh," she said.

Itachi was looking at Naruto now. "How does she look at you?" he asked.

"Like she knows something I don't," he said. "And it's not something good."

Sasuke grunted. "He's right," he said. "She's up to something."

"Is she in league with the woman from Mizushima?" Sakura wondered.

"It's possible," said Shisui, "but I wouldn't think too hard on it. Stay alert for now, worry later."

"I don't think you know how to worry," said Sasuke.

Sai shook his head. "Shisui-sempai is very cheerful," said Sai. "He's always smiling. I read in a book that smiling is good for you, because it relaxes you and releases endorphins and serotonin, which make you feel happy. It also makes you more successful and more likely to be promoted."

Shisui's grin broke across his face with the radiance of a thousand suns. "Ah, Itachi," he said. "Just think how much farther in life you'd have gone if you'd only ever learned how to smile. As for you, Sasuke, well, there's no hope. I'm surprised they even allowed you to graduate the Academy."

Sasuke glared at him.

"See? You should try to aim for your brother's stoic façade at least. Smiling might be beyond your scope, unlike Naruto here, who is clearly a world-class grinner, if not quite up to my standards."

"Awesome!" said Naruto. "I'm definitely going to become Hokage!"

Sai looked from Naruto to Itachi and back again. "I don't think that bit of the book is necessarily true," he said delicately.

"Oh, there are always exceptions to the rule," said Shisui airily. "Naruto the Mighty Genin is clearly one of them."

"Sai is right," said Itachi, over the sound of Naruto's offended spluttering. "Books make many claims based on circumstantial fact and anecdotal evidence, which people then believe uncritically. Unquestioning belief is always foolish."

Sakura smiled to herself as she listened to the developing argument, her eyes wandering to the window. The road had been climbing steadily and steeply for a while now, winding across a mountain face, and from the window she could see the forested slopes falling away below them. Up here, heavy snow had fallen, plastering the rocks and trees with white. It looked cold outside, cold and still.

Suddenly, there was a tearing boom, and the entire snow bus rocked violently. The shinobi started to their feet, stumbling as the vehicle slewed round and skidded to a stop.

"What the hell is going on?" Sakura asked, slinging on her haversack.

"The balance of probability suggests that Naruto was correct," said Shisui, "and that this is the doing of our friend Yukika." He glanced out the window. "In which case we've been caught like rats in a trap."

"We need to break out," said Sasuke.

"They'll be expecting that," Itachi said. "We'll be lucky to get away unscathed. There's probably an ambush waiting in the trees, and we'll be easy pickings on the cliff face."

"Then we just need to break out in every direction," said Naruto. "_Taijuu kagebunshin no jutsu!_"

A moment later, the snow bus exploded outwards, and half a hundred shadow clones poured from the wreckage. Caught up in the stampede, Sakura found she had no choice but to keep moving if she did not want to be trampled. Kagebunshin and rasengan made for a catastrophically noisy means of escape, she thought, but at least it was working – and then there was another boom and the clones in front of her were blasted into pieces.

Sasuke was at her elbow as she stumbled to a halt, her heart thundering in her chest. Her eyes swept their surroundings, taking in the twisted remains of the snow bus, the blackened crater in the road, the soot staining the snow. Above them reared a nearly sheer rock face – no way of escape there. On the other side of the road, the ground dropped steeply into a dark forest of conifers, the only cover they had, and the most likely place for their ambushers to be lying in wait.

This was definitely not a good place to be exposed, she thought. A few more of those explosions, and they might very well find themselves caught up in an avalanche. Glancing at Sasuke, she saw that his eyes were red with the sharingan.

"Above," he said. "I saw something fall."

Sakura raised her eyes, and at the sight of the white owl circling in the cloudy sky, her blood seemed to turn to ice in her veins. "Akatsuki," she said, her voice hoarse.

There was a sound behind them, and she whipped round to see Shisui and Naruto standing on the snowy road, staring up at the owl. "So he's the one who blew up Kirigakure," Shisui said, his eyes narrowed.

"I know him," said Naruto. "He kidnapped Gaara." A quick, hot anger was building inside him, and he clenched his fists.

"So, a long-range type who can fly and control his explosives from a distance," said Shisui. "This one may be tricky."

The owl circled lower, and as the small band of ninja had their first good look at the man's face, Naruto ground his teeth together. That same taunting grin, that same long mane of fair hair, the same malice in his one visible eye – he wanted nothing so much as to pluck Deidara out of the air and pummel him to a bloody pulp. He wanted it so badly he could feel his whole body tingling.

"Hey," said Deidara, "Kyuubi."

Naruto watched in silence as the owl passed overhead. If he came just a little bit closer he could use the Kyuubi's chakra arms to grab him – it would be so easy, so very easy – he could feel the heat of its chakra stirring behind his navel – No, no, he shouldn't use the Kyuubi in anger – remember how he hurt Sakura-chan –

"Not going to charge in headlong like you did last time, yeah?"

"You're here to capture me, aren't you?" Naruto asked levelly.

Deidara made another low pass. "That's my mission, yeah." He raised one hand and let several small white objects fall from it. "Say goodbye to your friends, Kyuubi."

The shinobi scattered, leaping away as the miniature bombs plummeted towards the ground. Naruto heard Sakura cry out, and swung towards her, his eyes widening in horror at the sight of a little white spider clinging to her arm. The bottom seemed to fall out of his stomach, and he lunged for her, frantic with fear that he would not make it in time –

"_Katsu!_"

There was a whistling screech and a brilliant electric light lanced out, stabbing the spider through. For one endless moment, Naruto still expected it to detonate, and then Sakura shook it off and it fell onto the snowy road, where it lay quite still.

"Sasuke-kun," she said, her voice shaking. "Oh, thank you, Sasuke-kun."

Naruto glanced at the other boy and saw his hand ablaze with chidori. He felt suddenly hollow inside. Sasuke had saved Sakura-chan, whilst he had done nothing, just blundered about like a fool. He had to do something – had to pull Deidara down and punch and punch and punch him –

"You got lucky there," Deidara called.

With a snarl, Naruto whirled back to him. The owl circled above, pale against the lowering clouds, dipped a little lower – Almost within range, Naruto thought, the heat of the Kyuubi's chakra spreading through his body. The snow underfoot began to hiss, small coils of vapour rising into the air.

"Naruto!" Sakura said sharply. There was an edge to her voice – fear – She was afraid, afraid of _him_, he thought. He felt as though he had been hit by a bucketful of cold water, and the heat in his belly died down.

Deidara grinned down at the boy as he made another pass overhead, stretching out his arms, hands closed. "See if you can avoid these, yeah!"

"Everyone, get back!" Sasuke snapped, his chidori flaring up. "_Chidori senbon!_"

Naruto ducked as a hail of needles shot over his head. "Give me some more warning in future, Sasuke!" he yelled.

"Don't be so slow."

All around them, miniature bombs were falling harmlessly into the snow, like a strange hail of pale insects. Sakura shuddered, jerking away from a spider that landed at her feet. Her heart was beating rapidly. She could still feel the clinging legs of the one that had nearly blown her up, and her skin crawled at the thought.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something move on the other side of the snow bus, and glanced that way in time to see a second bird rising into the sky behind Deidara and his owl, beating its great white wings as it circled above the cliff face to gain height.

"Sai!" Naruto said, and then frowned, screwing up his eyes as he stared at the figure on the ink eagle.

"It's Itachi!" said Sasuke.

The owl suddenly jinked sideways in the air, and Deidara glanced over his shoulder. "You think you could get away with a sneak attack in my blind spot, yeah? You'll have to do better than a kunai!" He plunged one hand into the clay pouch on his hip.

"If you say so," said Itachi. He rode the ink bird easily, his feet braced apart for balance.

"I do say so, Mr Superior," Deidara said. "Try defend against _this_, yeah!" In one smooth motion, he pulled his hand out of the pouch, and cast something at Itachi.

Even from the ground, with his sharingan Sasuke could see the tiny wings unfurling on either side of the bomb, see his brother's eyes turn red and his gaze lock with Deidara's. The next moment, Deidara froze, his eyes widening and losing focus, and the bomblet doubled back on itself, racing towards his owl.

"He's going to blow himself up!" Sakura gasped.

"He did it before, remember!" Naruto said. "He'll be fine!"

"Why do you care?" Sasuke asked. "Run for the trees!"

The three of them raced across the road and dived for cover in the underbrush, just as there was an explosion in the sky. Sasuke's heart seemed to miss a beat, and he glanced up at the billowing cloud of flame and smoke. Chunks of clay were raining down, and amongst them was a limp figure, falling towards the ground. He watched it plummeting through the air, like a ragdoll, and heard the bone-jarring thud as it hit the road.

If he survived that, he'll be after us again, Sasuke thought. I should probably go back and run a chidori through him.

He hesitated. The idea did not appeal to him, but he knew that to leave an Akatsuki member alive after defeat would be stupid. Sakura can't do it, he told himself. She's too soft hearted. And as for Naruto – no, he wouldn't kill someone helpless and unconscious. Which leaves me.

He squared his shoulders and drew a deep breath in. As he turned, out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of what looked like a lavender dress disappearing behind a tree. He checked.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked quietly.

"I think Yukika is somewhere down there," he said, pointing down the slope. "If she is, we should capture her and have her tell us what's going on."

"I'm pretty sure she set this up," said Naruto. "She's working for Akatsuki – so be careful. She might be more than just a lady-in-waiting."

The others nodded. "We'll fan out," said Sasuke quietly. "I'll approach from the right, Naruto the left, and Sakura the middle. Got that? Good – let's go."

He shot off, moving quickly and quietly through the trees, watching the place he had seen Yukika take cover. And yes, there she was again, her back to the tree trunk, looking from side to side. With his sharingan, he could see every small movement she made, from the darting of her eyes to the rapid rise and fall of her chest. She was afraid – things had not played out as she had expected, and now she was trying to escape.

He looked to his left. Sakura and Naruto were both in position. Good. He moved forward, slipping from tree to tree, every sense tingling. He must be as silent as possible. Even the faint squeaking of his feet in the snow at the end of each shunshin could give him away.

Yukika suddenly broke from her hiding place, running down the slope on a tangent that would bring her directly across his path. She ducked in and out of the trees, weaving among the trunks. For a lady-in-waiting encumbered by the long skirts of her dress, Sasuke thought, she ran fast. He increased his pace, not wanting to let her draw ahead.

There was another thick-trunked conifer ahead, and Yukika hurried towards it, stumbling through the snow. Just as she reached it and dodged behind it, breathless and panting, Sasuke sensed, rather than saw, a movement to his right, and froze, crouched behind a young pine. Glancing that way, he saw Shisui taking cover in a stand of saplings, eyeing the distance between himself and Yukika's tree. By Sasuke's reckoning, it was a good hundred feet, if not more – not an easy distance to cover in a single shunshin.

The slightest tensing of Shisui's muscles was all the clue Sasuke got before his cousin suddenly vanished, moving so fast that the sharingan could not keep up. Even as Sasuke's eyes darted back to Yukika, she was already crumpling from Shisui's tap to the back of her head.

Sasuke sank back, letting out a breath he hadn't even known he was holding. Nobody could use the shunshin as fast nor as far as Shisui. He was truly spectacular in motion.

With Yukika lying limp in his arms, Shisui looked directly at Sasuke's hiding place. "It's all right, Sasuke!" he called. "I've subdued the fierce and deadly lady-in-waiting. It's safe for you to come out of hiding now!"

He was also truly annoying, Sasuke thought as he rose to his feet. Thrusting his hands back into his trouser pockets, he strolled out from behind the young pine.

"Have you seen Itachi and Sai?" he asked.

"They're coming after us, a little more slowly," said Shisui. "Your brother –" He hesitated, the laughter falling off his face.

"Is he –" Sasuke let the question trail off, unable to bring himself to finish it.

Shisui gave a helpless shrug. "Looks like it," he said, "but he won't let the others see it."

Sasuke's insides clenched. Here they were in the Snow Country at the beginning of winter, with Akatsuki and perhaps Orochimaru hunting for them, the nearest country overrun with transforming Zetsu and a ninja-hating population, and his brother was –

"Sasuke-kun! Shisui-san!"

Sakura came trotting through the snow, her cheeks pink with exertion, and her nose pink with cold. Naruto was hurrying after her. "You've got her already," she said as she reached them.

"Yes," said Shisui. "We'll move on from here – get some distance between ourselves and the ambush – and once we've found somewhere to shelter, we'll see what she has to tell us."

"What about Sai and Itachi?" Naruto asked. "I can go back and look for them."

Sasuke shook his head. "No," he said, more vehemently than he had intended. "I'll do it."

Before the others could reply, he took off, bounding away through the tree branches, shaking them free of their loads of snow. The cold air stung his face and made his lungs ache. He pushed himself to travel even faster, until his chest was burning and the _thump_, _thump_, _thump_ of his pounding heart rang in his ears. His eyes moved ceaselessly, roving the steep conifer-clad slopes for any signs of Itachi and Sai.

There was a movement in the trees further up the slope, and he gazed intently towards it – a dark shape, one, no, two figures – Itachi! His brother was looking his way; probably he had already seen him.

He dropped from his branch, landing lightly in the snow. "I've come to find you," he said. "The others are waiting. We've got Yukika."

"Good," said Itachi. To Sasuke's anxious eyes, his face was drawn, the lines under his eyes more deeply engraved. His clothes were streaked with ash, and he smelled of smoke.

"Is everyone all right?" Sai asked.

"Nobody's injured," said Sasuke. "What about you two?"

Sai shrugged. "I'm all right."

"We both are," said Itachi. Seeing Sasuke's sceptical look, he added, "I'm just dirty. I didn't expect the explosion to be so big."

With Sai present, Sasuke had nothing more to say, and the three of them trudged down the slope in silence, the only noise the squeak of the snow underfoot. Their breath steamed in the cold.

Shisui, Sakura and Naruto were still waiting where Sasuke had left them. Yukika was still unconscious, sitting propped up against a tree, but her hands had been bound behind her back.

"And so the tortoises emerge from the woods," said Shisui as they reached them. "Hurry up, slowpokes. You'd think that we were out for a picnic, not stranded on a snowy mountaintop waiting for the next snowfall."

"We're not quite stranded," said Itachi. "I took the liberty of sending Sai to rifle through the cab of the snow bus to see what he could find, and he turned up a useful map."

"What about the driver and the guards?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, I tied them up and asked them to tell me where exactly we were. They also said that they knew nothing about the ambush."

"Did they see Yukika at all?" Shisui asked.

"No, they said they hadn't."

"You didn't leave them tied up, did you?" Sakura fixed him with a hard look.

Sai smiled disarmingly. "I'll release the jutsu once we're further away. I don't want them to follow us, just in case they are working for Akatsuki."

Sakura frowned. "You don't think that –" she began, but Shisui cut her off.

"Now's not the time for that, Sakura-chan," he said, stooping to hoist Yukika onto his shoulder. "The weather won't stay this good for much longer, and we want to get some distance between ourselves and the ambush."

Sakura glanced back up the mountain. The thick grey clouds seemed to be lower, heavier, and there was a faint moaning of wind higher up. The sound made the hair on her arms rise.

"Let's go," she said, tugging her haversack more securely over her shoulders.

The wind began to move through the forest as the shinobi hurried downwards, rattling the topmost branches of the pines, plucking at hair and clothing with icy fingers. Presently, snow began falling, not a soft fall of slowly drifting flakes, but little stinging particles borne on the wind instead. The ninja increased their pace, hastening to get below the storm.

Following Shisui, Sakura kept an eye on Yukika for signs of wakefulness. The woman's head lolled on his shoulder, her long dark hair streaming down his back. Pellets of snow beat on her face, frosted her hair and clothes.

Before long, Sakura saw her lids flickering. "She's coming round!" she called.

Yukika opened her eyes and stared blankly at Sakura for a moment. She blinked once, twice, and then lifted her head and looked around, her eyes not quite focused. As though the effort had tired her, she let her head fall back on Shisui's shoulder, and lay still again, her face pale and lids drawn down over her eyes.

Probably nauseous, Sakura thought. All the tree jumping can't be helping her either.

Quite suddenly, Yukika jerked her head up again and sank her teeth into Shisui's neck. Taken by surprise, he stumbled, and only stayed upright on his snow-slippery branch by some miracle of chakra control. Sakura was at his side in an instant, grabbing Yukika's face and trying to prize her jaw loose, whilst Shisui reached across with his free hand and pushed at her. The woman snarled at them, and bit down harder. Shisui cursed, the blood draining from his face and sweat springing out on his brow.

Sakura tightened her grip on Yukika's face. "If you won't let go," she said grimly, "I'll break your jaw. I can do it," she added, and squeezed until she could feel the bones creaking under the strain.

Yukika gave a muffled yelp, and released Shisui's neck. He dropped her onto the branch at once, and sank to his knees, clutching the red and bleeding mark on his neck.

Sakura knelt beside him, her heart thundering. She should make him take his hand away – should look at the wound and treat it – but what if she made another mistake? She glanced down at Yukika, lying beside them on the branch, winded and gasping for breath. She could see the impressions left by her fingers, flooding with angry colour, and she felt a sudden twinge of guilt. She was a med nin – she was supposed to heal, not harm.

"Sakura-chan," said Shisui hoarsely, and her attention snapped back to him.

"Don't talk," she said. "I'll need to see how much damage she's done."

The bite marks looked ugly, and from the bruise blooming on Shisui's neck, it was clear that Yukika had managed to rupture most of the blood vessels in the skin. To Sakura's relief, though, the big veins and arteries inside the neck were undamaged, and she sat back on her heels with a sigh.

"You'll survive," she told him. "It's best to let it keep bleeding, to flush out any infections. I'll just clean it up for you now, and then I'll look at it again when we stop."

"What about _her_?" Sai asked.

Looking up, Sakura saw him standing on a branch higher in the tree, Naruto, Sasuke and Itachi near by. The thought passed through her mind that they must look like a flock of overgrown crows perched in the branches of this spruce.

"Gag her," said Itachi. "She can't bite then."

Sai nodded, and jumped lightly down, landing next to Yukika. She lifted her head to glare at him, her hair dishevelled and falling in her face.

"You wouldn't dare," she snapped. "Just wait until Koyuki-hime hears how shamefully you have treated me!"

Sai smiled apologetically. "I am afraid it is necessary," he said, pulling a strip of cloth from his hip pouch and wadding it up into a ball.

"Don't you touch m-mmmfffggh!"

Shisui gave a wry grin. "Lesson number one: keep your mouth shut in the presence of a man with a gag. Ouch! Sakura-chan, that hurt."

"It's disinfectant," she said firmly. "It wouldn't be doing its job if it didn't hurt."

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" he said mournfully. "Why are med nin sadists at heart?"

More and more snow was falling, stinging their eyes and cheeks and coating their clothes. Sakura finished dabbing at Shisui's neck, and began to pack up her medical supplies, her fingers stiff with cold.

"We'd better move on," Sasuke said, looking uneasily at their surroundings. "Who's carrying her?"

"I am," said Itachi, joining Sai and Yukika. The woman glowered up at him. "But first –"

Sharingan active and spinning, he made eye contact with her; in moments her lids fell and she went limp.

"There will be no further trouble from her," Itachi said, and lifted her to his shoulder. "Let's move on. We need to get even lower than this."

The air was rapidly filling with flying flakes, and the wind threatened to blow them off course. Once, Sakura was carried off to the side by a particularly strong blast of wind as she jumped, and narrowly missed being slammed into a tree. After that, they travelled on the ground, where progress was slower but at least safer.

On and on they went, Sakura keeping her hands tucked inside her sleeves, trying to heat them up again. The wind beating against their backs was cold, so cold, and she just could not keep warm. It seemed such an effort to move, to force one leg in front of the other. When she looked at Yukika, she saw that the woman's face was blue. Of course. She at least was moving, keeping her blood flowing, but Yukika was unconscious. If they did not find shelter soon, she might die.

There was a touch on her shoulder, and she looked round at Shisui. He was pointing off to the right where there was a black patch on the hillside. "A cave!" he shouted over the sound of the wind. "Head for the cave!"

Cutting across the mountainside was harder than going down, for they were now side-on to the wind, and it buffeted them and pushed them, continually forcing them off course. Sakura suffered worst of all, being the smallest and lightest, until Naruto linked arms with her, and their combined weight made it easier for them to withstand the wind. At last, they reached the cave, and found it was little more than a shallow, low-roofed recess in a cluster of rocks. It was out of the wind and the snow, however, and they crowded inside with relief.

"Oh," said Sakura, brushing the snow from her clothes, "this is so good. I wish we had some kindling for a fire, though – I feel like I'll never get warm again."

"Leave it to me, Sakura-chan," said Naruto, getting to his feet and crouching back to the mouth of the rocks. "Sasuke, Sai, you coming?"

Fifteen minutes later, they had a small fire going, lit with a carefully controlled katon courtesy of Sasuke. Heat and shelter, Sakura thought, feeling warmth creeping back into her limbs. They'd ride out the storm without any problems – except Yukika.

She looked at the woman, who was sitting propped against the back of the recess, her head drooped to one side. Her face was smooth, peaceful in unconsciousness. Sai had removed her gag, but her wrists remained bound. If she had been desperate enough to bite Shisui, Itachi had reasoned, she would probably be stupid enough to try reach for a kunai, and quite possibly lucky enough to stab someone with it.

"Now that we're out of the worst of the weather," Itachi said, his voice cutting across Sakura's thoughts, "I think it's time to find out what Yukika can tell us about Akatsuki and the ambush."

* * *

><p><strong>Those trivial little notes at the end of the chapter<strong>

There may not be any vehicles in the manga, but there were vehicles in the movie _Ninja Clash in the Land of Snow_, from which Koyuki, Dotou, Sandayuu and the Land of Snow all come. I don't remember any of them being given a name, other than the train, hence the made-up term "snow bus". On the other hand, the _ryō_ actually is the currency used in the manga, based on the currency of Japan before the introduction of the yen.

Yukika's description of the glaciers and the waterfalls was inspired by Greenland's glaciers featured in - you guessed it - David Attenborough's _Frozen Planet_.

And in case the honorifics and Japanese titles are confusing, here follows a rapid explanation of Naruto's _faux pas_. Yukika calls Koyuki _Koyuki-hime_, roughly "Princess Koyuki". Naruto, however, calls her _neechan_, which literally means "older sister", and is rather more informal. Sakura doesn't go as far as Yukika, but uses the polite _Koyuki-san_. A pretty good explanation of the standard honorifics can be found at the front of any manga published by Del Rey, like _Fairy Tail_ or _Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle_ - or on Google. Everything is on Google.


	7. Bait For A Jinchuuriki

March has been just a tad bit busy - just a bit - but there is a chapter after all.

Thanks as always to my reviewers. Your feedback encourages me to keep on writing. And a big thank you to my beta, Just Subliminal, for reading, critiquing, and helping me keep characters more in character this chapter rather than less.

* * *

><p>Chapter Seven<p>

Bait For A Jinchuuriki

Itachi leaned forward and touched his hand to Yukika's forehead. Sakura watched anxiously as she came back to consciousness, her lids trembling and brow creasing as the peaceful expression slid from her face. When she opened her eyes, they were glazed, her pupils dilated. She looked utterly disoriented.

"How do you feel, Yukika-san?" Itachi asked, sitting back.

She raised her eyes to his. "My head hurts," she said groggily. "Where is this? It's so cold." She shivered, and made to hug herself, only to discover that her hands were tied behind her. Her eyes flew open, widening in alarm. "What? Why can't I move?"

She glanced around the recess, and Sakura could see her mind shaking off the last of the sharingan hypnosis. Her mouth set in a thin stubborn line, and she swung back to glare at Itachi. "Koyuki-hime will never forgive you for treating me like this," she said.

"I'd be more concerned with your daimyo's views on collaborating with Akatsuki," said Shisui.

Yukika's gaze darted to him. "I don't know what you mean," she said.

Too quick, Sakura thought.

"Tell me, Yukika-san," Itachi said, "to whom did you send that message from the snow bus?"

She gave a haughty toss of her head. "I do not have to tell you anything," she said. Sakura could see she was trembling in spite of her defiance.

"It would be a good idea, though," said Shisui pleasantly. "You are currently sitting in a cave surrounded by shinobi whom Akatsuki has just tried to blow up, coincidentally shortly after you dispatched a message to the palace."

Yukika did not reply.

Sakura looked anxiously at the two men, wondering what they would do now. She had no problem beating information out of someone who had attacked her or one of her teammates, and Yukika had tried to blow them up and bitten Shisui to boot – Sakura clenched her fists at the memory – but Yukika was also the lady-in-waiting of a foreign daimyo. Oh, she knew that sometimes civilians were involved in ninja affairs, and that being a non-combatant was no guarantee of protection, nor of innocence – that anyone who had intelligence crucial to the success of a mission was a target and could and would be questioned, perhaps even tortured – but what happened when beating up the target was liable to cause an international incident? Difficult decisions like that were the Hokage's to make, and the Torture and Interrogation Squad's, but in this cold little shelter amongst the rocks, with the wind howling outside, and an Akatsuki member lying on the mountainside above them, there was no-one else to make the decision – it was hers, hers and her teammates, and whatever happened to Yukika, they would be responsible for it.

But, she thought, they had to protect Naruto. Yukika was nothing next to Naruto, nothing at all. If Akatsuki captured him, then the shinobi world would have no chance, and Yukika was involved with Akatsuki. She had arranged an ambush that could have killed them – she could hardly expect any mercy.

"So," Shisui went on, smiling as though he had run into Yukika on the street and they were simply having a friendly conversation, "I suggest that you reconsider your options. If you don't want to tell us of your own free will, we will be compelled to take actions which we will later regret."

Yukika's breath caught audibly. "How dare you!" she said.

"Reluctantly," Shisui told her.

"I am one of the ladies-in-waiting to the daimyo of the Snow Country! You would be the disgrace to all ninja!"

"Probably," said Shisui cheerfully.

Yukika glanced around the recess wildly. "You would do it even with these children here?" she asked.

"Children?" Shisui asked. "Oh, them. Yes, we would."

"Even in front of that girl?"

Sakura kept her face impassive as Shisui glanced at her, his eyes glinting wickedly. He was up to something, of that she was certain, but precisely what, she did not know. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Naruto open his mouth, probably to ask what it was they would be doing, and then shut it again abruptly when Sasuke nudged him.

Shisui turned back to Yukika. "You mean Sakura-chan?" He shrugged. "Yes. In fact, the kids would join in."

Yukika was breathing rapidly now, the pulse in the side of her neck racing. Her eyes, wide and dark, flew to Itachi's in appeal. "You wouldn't let them!"

Itachi looked at her for a long moment. The only sound within the cave was the snap and crackle of the little fire, and the wailing of the wind outside. Yukika stared at Itachi, shaking visibly.

"I would order them to, Yukika-san," he said, his words dropping like stones into the sudden hush.

The woman seemed to crumple as he spoke, folding in on herself. The blood drained from her face, leaving her ashen, and then, very quietly, she began to sob.

"Yukika-san," said Itachi, and she looked up, her cheeks glistening with tears in the firelight. "Yukika-san, to whom did you send that message?"

"I – to the palace," she said, her eyes flickering towards Shisui.

"To anyone in particular at the palace?"

"Yes, to the steward."

"Is it possible that Akatsuki could have intercepted the message?"

"I – I don't know," she said, and again Sakura saw her gaze darting to Shisui.

Itachi went on with his questions as though he had not noticed. "How was the message sent, Yukika-san?"

She looked confused. "By radio," she said.

"Where is the transmitter located?"

"In the cab of the bus."

Sakura saw Sai sit up a little taller at Yukika's words. Yes, she remembered, he'd been in the cab and spoken to the guards.

"I see," said Itachi. "How is it then, that neither the guards nor the driver saw you?"

Yukika opened her mouth and then shut it again. Her face was white as paper.

"It's no use lying to Itachi," said Shisui. "He notices every little detail. The movement of your eyes, the pulse in your neck, the speed of your breath – nothing escapes him. He has the best eyes of the Uchiha clan."

Yukika was shaking. Despite her obstinate, infuriating refusal to tell them anything truthful, Sakura could not help but feel a pang of pity for her. If she were the one captured and bound, and to be faced with Itachi as an interrogator – the inscrutable expression and that quiet, polite way of speaking, his cool gaze which made her feel small and exposed and of less importance to him than a beetle – No, she would rather not come across Itachi as an enemy.

"Let us try again, Yukika-san," Itachi said. "To whom did you send that message?"

Her face worked for a moment, as though some great struggle were going on within. And then, "He made me send it," she said. "He told me that if I did not let him know when the jinchuuriki had arrived, he would kill Koyuki-hime."

Sakura's heart seemed to skip a beat, and then start pounding again in a mad flurry. Akatsuki had known about their mission. How?

Naruto bolted up. "He? Deidara?"

Yukika looked at him, her face twisted with anger. "Why did you have to come?" she asked. "Why didn't you just refuse to take the mission? If you hadn't come, Koyuki-hime wouldn't be in danger now."

Naruto's heart was beating hard. "Why does he want to kill Koyuki-neechan?"

"Because of you, Kyuubi," Yukika snarled.

Naruto flinched as though he had been struck, and Sakura felt something akin to hatred for the woman before her. To treat Naruto as though he were the demon fox itself – that was how Akatsuki saw him, not as a human, but as a monster. She caught hold of Naruto's hand, and gave it a small squeeze. "Sit down," she said, tugging at him down beside her.

"So the daimyo is being held hostage by Akatsuki," Shisui said. "Well, that's an unexpected development."

"But she should be safe now," Sai pointed out. "Deidara was defeated, so Koyuki-sama is no longer vulnerable."

Sasuke stiffened, his mind flashing back to the image of that limp figure plummeting to earth. He had almost forgotten about Deidara – no, he _had_ forgotten about him when he saw Yukika in the trees. He should have gone to finish him off, to make sure that he would not pursue them, but he had shirked his duty, simply because he found it distasteful.

Of course, he reminded himself, the man may still have been unconscious when the storm started – might still be lying there in the wind and the snow. Just listen to it howling outside. It's the sort of weather that kills. If he's still out in the open, he's a dead man. _We'd_ be dead if we didn't have this shelter.

The sound of Yukika laughing broke in on his thoughts. It was wild, almost hysterical. "Not in danger?" she said. "You escaped the ambush!"

Itachi and Shisui glanced at each other, and seeing their expressions, Sasuke knew that they were thinking the same thoughts as he was. No, he thought, it can't be. Not him, not here.

"Yukika-san, who is threatening Koyuki-sama?"

"Akatsuki itself."

"Who was their spokesman?"

She shook her head. "I never saw his face."

"Why not?"

"He was in the shadows all the time, standing behind Koyuki-hime." Yukika paused, looked Itachi square in the eye. "But even so, I could see that he was masked."

Sasuke felt sick to his stomach. Uchiha Madara, here of all places! A shudder went through him, half anger, half panic. How had he known that he and Naruto and Itachi would be in the Snow Country?

_I have eyes everywhere,_ came the memory of a voice, and with it the sensation of unreasoning fear. _In the end you cannot outrun me. I'll be waiting for you. _

Sasuke frowned, pushing the memory and the fear to the back of his mind. Right now, I need to be cool and calm, he thought. Being afraid won't help get us out of here.

"What are we going to do?" Sakura asked. "If we go on, we're walking into a trap."

Neither Shisui nor Itachi made an answer. Both were frowning, and Shisui sat with his head in one hand.

"Sakura is right," said Sai. "The safest thing to do is to retreat."

Yukika gave a grim little laugh. "Where to? You arrived on the last ship of the season. No captain is going to risk his ship in the winter storms." She shook her head. "I'm afraid you're stuck, shinobi."

Sakura frowned. "There's no other way off the island?"

"No, there isn't."

"Then our only choice is to go on," said Naruto. "Besides, if Akatsuki is controlling Koyuki-neechan, we can't leave her in their hands."

"If Akatsuki is controlling the daimyo, they'll have access to all the Snow Country's technology," Sasuke pointed out.

Sakura looked from one boy to the other. "But – Naruto – if we go on – if you're captured –"

"I won't be captured," said Naruto, flashing Sakura a reassuring grin. "I'm the great Uzumaki Naruto, after all, and Konoha's Orange Hokage. Nobody's going to get me before I become Hokage."

"Naruto –" Sakura began, but Sai cut her off.

"We can't take that kind of risk here," he said. "It was different on the battle field – you had the whole Alliance to back you up. We're completely cut off from support here. If something goes wrong, there won't be any reinforcements."

"You don't have any choice," Yukika said. "You can't stay out here in the wilderness – you'll die when the first real storm hits, if you haven't been found before. There is only a very small part of this country that is inhabitable, after all, and Akatsuki will search it thoroughly. You have to go on – you _have_ to free Koyuki-hime."

"If we retreat now," Sai said, "we should be able to reach the harbour before nightfall and put out to sea. If the ship made port today, it should be able to leave today as well."

"Retreat in this snowstorm?" Yukika said. "You don't know anything about our weather. This storm is blowing off the mountain to the coast. No ships will set sail in this weather."

Nobody spoke for a moment. Outside their shelter, the wind wailed, the sound eerily akin to human cries, perhaps the voices of people lost in the all-smothering snow. Sakura felt her skin creeping, and she pulled her cloak tighter around her.

"What are we going to do?" she asked again, more to block out the sound of the wind than for an answer.

Itachi looked up. "We're going to go on," he said. "Our best hope lies in freeing Koyuki-sama from Akatsuki. Only then will we stand any chance of surviving."

Yukika's face lit up. "You'll free Koyuki-hime?"

Sakura glanced at Shisui, her eyes questioning, but he shook his head. "As soon as the storm lets up, we're moving out," he said. "Sai, the map."

x

It was late in the day by the time the wind slackened, but the ninja were eager to be moving again. As they emerged from the snow-plastered rocks, stretching cramped limbs and exclaiming on the cold, Sakura could not help but feel a sort of nervous excitement. They were heading into a trap, but this time they were aware of the danger and would not be taken by surprise.

Glancing at Naruto, she saw that familiar determined glint in his eyes, and she smiled to herself. There was something deeply reassuring about that look. How many times had she seen it, and then seen Naruto pull off some crazy, impossible feat!

Beside Naruto, Sasuke quietly readjusted the straps on his haversack, his handsome face quiet and calm. Only the slight downward turn of his mouth betrayed his tension. As if he felt her watching him, he looked up and met Sakura's eye. She felt her heart quicken as it always did, and she smiled at him. He gave a small grunt of acknowledgement and went back to his haversack.

Several inches of fresh snow had fallen or been blown over the mountainside during the storm, shrouding the branches of the spruce trees with white. The tall straight trunks of the Todo fir rose like black columns on the steep slopes. It was a world from a painting, Sakura thought, black ink on white paper.

There was the squeak of footsteps in the snow, and then Shisui spoke. "Sakura-chan, can you look at my neck?"

She turned round to see him standing behind her, pulling down the collar of his shirt with two fingers. His skin was blotched purple and red, and the marks from Yukika's teeth were still plain to see.

"It looks pretty sore," she said. "How are you feeling?"

"You don't think she might have had poison on her teeth or something that needs to be sucked out?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Sakura gave him a speculative look. "It would be more effective to open the wound up with a kunai. Hold on while I just get one –" She reached for the holster strapped to her thigh, and Shisui raised his hands in mock surrender.

"You're such a sadist, Sakura-chan," he said.

"I hardly think you're in a position to talk, Shisui-san. I was watching how much fun you had intimidating Yukika." She checked, struck by a sudden thought. "What were you and Itachi going to do to her if she refused to talk?"

Shisui glanced off at Yukika, standing a little distance away. Her chin was up and her back stiff, and her eyes darted from one ninja to the next, lingering for a long moment on Naruto.

"Well?" Sakura prodded.

Shisui looked back at her, his eyes bright and that wicked grin stealing across his face. "Well," he said, dropping his voice to a whisper and leaning uncomfortably close. Sakura felt the blood suddenly pounding in her face. "Well," he repeated, still in that same stage whisper, "the truth is –"

"Yes?" she squeaked, feeling very small and very self-conscious.

"The truth is that we were going to do nothing," he finished, and then drew back. "By the way, Sakura-chan, are you all right? You look rather like a flaming tomato."

"I – no – what?"

"A flaming tomato," said Shisui helpfully. Behind him, Sakura could see Sai helping Yukika onto one of his ink tigers; as soon as she had been secured, they would move off.

"No, not that, but what you said before." Sakura tried to marshal her thoughts into some semblance of coherence, very definitely ignoring Inner Sakura's current glee. "I mean – you said _nothing?_"

Shisui grinned.

"But you said you'd regret it!"

"And it would be true. I'd regret not knowing what we know now. Wouldn't you, Sakura-chan?"

"But Itachi-san said he'd order _us_ to do it too!"

"You think Naruto would leave off demanding answers without an order?" Shisui began to move off.

"But – but –"

Shisui gave a flippant wave of his hand. "You'll work it out eventually," he said. "Underneath the underneath and all that. Hurry up, Sakura-chan, or else you'll be left behind, O tomato-faced one." He sprang into the branches and went leaping away.

Sakura stood spluttering a moment longer, feeling half annoyed at him and horribly foolish. One look, and she was blushing like an infatuated genin. That damnable Uchiha charisma, she thought, starting after Shisui. It's nearly as bad as their sharingan genjutsu.

Sharingan genjutsu … For a moment, her thoughts seemed to pause, hanging suspended as her mind filled with one sudden great realisation, and then they began to race madly one after the other. Yukika said that the masked man was standing behind Koyuki, like a puppeteer pulling the strings … Tsunade-shishou said that the Third Mizukage was controlled by a genjutsu cast by Uchiha Madara – the masked man in Akatsuki. Since Madara is involved and the situations are so similar, it's probable that Koyuki herself is under a genjutsu, which makes this even more dangerous. She's not even in control of her actions or her personality any longer. We can't trust her. I wonder if Naruto understands this … I hope he does.

She cast a sideways glance at him as they raced through the trees. His brows were drawn down and his mouth was set in a firm, determined line. Not the face of someone who'd just rush headlong into danger, Sakura thought. Still –

"Naruto?" she said, moving up alongside him.

He turned to her. "Something on your mind, Sakura-chan?"

"I'm just thinking about Koyuki-san," she said. "If she's under a genjutsu, we can't trust her, can we? I mean, she could appear friendly and normal, but still be under Akatsuki's control."

Naruto gave her a strange look. "That's why we're sneaking in, isn't it?"

"Yes, but I mean – remember how she tricked us and Dotou both last time? When she led us to him and gave him the crystal before trying to stab him?"

Naruto frowned. "Sakura-chan, I don't get it. Just tell me what you mean."

"Just –" She paused, licked her lips, and then gave up on tact and subtlety. "You can't trust her, Naruto."

He did not answer immediately, but instead looked away from her, his gaze fixed on Itachi's back as he led the way through the snowy forest. "Sakura-chan," he said slowly, "I know that. I'm not stupid."

Sakura's heart misgave her. "I didn't mean it like that," she said quickly. "I'm worried about you."

"You're worried?" said Naruto. "You're worried about _me?_ So does this mean you'll go on a date with me when we get back to Konoha?" Grinning, he skipped nimbly aside as she tried to cuff him.

"Read the mood, idiot," said Sasuke from behind them.

"No, no, _you_ need to read the mood," Naruto said. "She'd just said that she was worried, so – bam! Strike while the iron is hot and all that. Really, Sasuke, you ought to know these things by now."

"Hn."

"You're just jealous that I got special coaching from Ero-sennin."

"Naruto –"

"Er … yes, Sakura-chan?"

"Special coaching in what, exactly?"

"Er … uh … No, no, no, no, no, it's not what you think! Oh, God. Sasuke, help me!"

At the front of the group, Itachi turned to Sai. "I believe that was the sound of Naruto-kun being punted through the air."

"Yes, taichou, it was."

"Go and retrieve him. And tell my little brother and his abominably stupid teammates that if they don't behave, I will let Shisui off his leash."

"Yes, taichou."

As Sai darted off through the trees, Itachi looked after him. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Yukika making small shifting, twisting motions, as though she were trying to reach or perhaps move something. So, she had still more tricks up her sleeve. It was a good thing that her hands were still bound – she was far more resourceful and determined than he had expected. He would have to keep an eye on her as they approached the palace to make sure that she did not alert the guards. Their entire plan depended upon stealth, especially since Madara himself might be there.

The prospect of coming face-to-face with him again filled Itachi with a sick dread, not for himself so much as for Sasuke. He could not protect him against someone who made himself intangible, and he had always protected him. From the moment in the hospital when he had taken the small blanket-wrapped bundle from his mother's arms and looked into the little red face, he had made it his task to keep his brother from harm. He had watched over Sasuke's first unsteady steps, picking him up when he fell and setting him back on his feet. Later, he had taught him to handle edged weapons without cutting himself, and shown him how to remove a sticking plaster in one quick tug so that it stung for no more than a moment. And once Sasuke had started at the Academy, he had taught him how to evade booby traps and get out of genjutsu, though their mother had had words with him on the subject of traumatising little children. Whilst with hindsight, he conceded that he had overdone it on occasion – that incident with the rain of kunai and the explosions, for instance – he felt that Sasuke had turned out to be quick, competent and good at taking care of himself in a tight place.

But when Madara had appeared before them in the waste of smashed and broken tree trunks and rubble and lifeless bodies, none of that had mattered. Nothing they did had made any difference, and so they had run – and he had let them. Against Madara there was no defence. If he were waiting for them at the palace, their only hope of success lay in speed and silence, and the element of surprise.

He glanced at Yukika again, quiet now as the ink tiger bore her along. If she imperilled their plan and put all their lives at risk, he would kill her.

His hands clenched involuntarily. It did not matter that she was no ninja, nor that she served the daimyo of a foreign country. This was war, and she was on the wrong side. Perhaps not by choice, but that made no difference. He would protect his village as best he could, as long as he could.

That might not be very long, he thought wryly. His heart was beating a rapid uneven tattoo and small sharp pains ran down from his collarbone into his chest. Still, he had managed for the last seven days – he could keep going longer.

He opened his fingers again, concentrating on his breathing whilst his heart leapt and thundered against his ribs.

x

Three years ago, when Koyuki had been invested as daimyo of Snow Country, the ceremony had been held up for a few days searching for a suitable location, as the country no longer had a palace. Kazahana Castle lay in ruins, its remains given over to the ice and snow, and Team Seven had blown up the fortress of the usurper Dotou. In the end, the city hall of Rebun had been chosen, as it had a large walled courtyard and an impressive hall in the old _shinden_ style, with its sweeping gabled roofs and wooden pillars. It was one of the grandest buildings Naruto had seen, bigger than even the Hokage Tower, and on the day of Koyuki's investiture it had seemed grander yet, the courtyard thronged with cheering people, cherry petals falling like confetti, rows and rows of Snow Country banners. In his memory, it was a city full of sunlight and laughter, lying in a green valley below cloud-wrapped mountains, not this place of snow and louring clouds.

Looking down at the city from the mountainside above it, it seemed like a place seen in a dream, familiar yet utterly foreign. The town hall was still there, but it had dwindled into insignificance next to the new palace built higher up the valley. Raised high on foundations of stone, the palace was a fantasy of courtyards and colonnades, halls and gates, pavilions and pagodas. In the very centre stood a tall tower, with a golden _shachihoko_ at each end of the roof ridge, rearing their bright tails on high.

It was not the first castle Naruto had seen – that had been Kikyo Castle in Konoha – nor the biggest – he had been to several cities with truly enormous castles when travelling with Jiraiya – but it was nonetheless beautiful. For a princess like Koyuki, he thought, it was most fitting.

"It's a fairytale castle," said Sakura, her voice awed.

Naruto turned to her, grinning. "Perfect for Princess Fuun."

She laughed, her breath rising in a cloud of steam. "It _is_ like something out of one of Koyuki-san's films, isn't it?"

Sai and Shisui joined them, their boots crunching on the snow. Sai's tiger padded quietly behind them, Yukika sitting quietly on its back. Her eyes brightened as she looked into the valley, and a small smile crossed her face.

Shisui whistled. "So, this is the famous Kazahana Castle."

"No," said Yukika. "It's just a replica. The real Kazahana Castle was destroyed by fire thirteen years ago."

"This wasn't here when we came to the Snow Country," Sakura added.

Shisui looked impressed. "So all this was built in the last few years. That's remarkable."

"What's going on down there?" Sai asked. "There seem to be a lot of people running around."

The forest petered out when it reached the valley floor, leaving half a mile of open ground between the fringe of the trees and the castle walls. In summer, the alpine meadow teemed with visitors come to see the wildflowers – aconite and vivid blue gentians, the twisted spikes of ladies' tresses and the little white balls of wintergreen, purple hosta and the fringed flowers of crag mirror nodding at the ends of their long stalks – but the tourists left with the winter. Yet for some reason, the snowy valley was full of people. Naruto, staring down, could not make out any pattern or sense to their movements; they looked utterly disorganised.

"Is it a trap?" Sakura asked, her voice anxious.

Yukika laughed. "So like a ninja," she said. "Always quick to suspect the worst. No, it's the first big snowfall of the year, and the townsfolk are having fun. Rebun has a Snow Festival as well as a Flower Festival, you know."

Shisui grinned. "That's good news," he said. "It'll be much easier to cross the meadow unnoticed with all those people down there."

"Unnoticed?" Yukika said. "Do you think we'll go unnoticed with this tiger?"

Shisui ignored her. "All we need to do is nip in, grab the daimyo, and fight off any Akatsuki members or hostile shinobi in the palace." He turned to Sai. "We're going to need your mice," he said. "Once we're inside the palace, have them search for Koyuki. Naruto, use Sage Mode as well to speed up the search. Sakura, you're going to be our support. Got that?"

The three young ninja nodded.

"All right. We're moving out."

Naruto glanced at Sasuke and Itachi, standing a little way off in the trees and talking in low voices. From this distance, he could not make out the words, but judging by Sasuke's frown they seemed to be disagreeing about something. Also, Itachi – he looked almost –

"Stop dawdling, Naruto!"

He jerked to attention, and hurried after Sakura. It had to be his imagination; Itachi was formidable and terrifying and horror incarnate. There was no way that he could be short of breath. Not someone who had been made an ANBU captain at thirteen, who was listed in the bingo books of all the other shinobi nations, who was the greatest genius of the Uchiha clan, and who had been responsible for that Thing that had happened when he and Sakura visited Sasuke's house for the first time. _That_ still gave him nightmares.

He glanced over his shoulder quickly to see what Sasuke and Itachi were doing, and then, satisfied that they were following, continued after the others. They were walking now, moving quietly and carefully through the spruce and pine.

The steep mountain slope began to flatten out as they neared the valley floor. Itachi, now leading, raised his hand, and the group stopped. The tiger padded up beside him, tail twitching.

"Sai, release your jutsu," he said, and caught Yukika by the arm as the tiger dissolved into a puddle of ink. "Yukika-san, you're going to have to walk now," he said to her. "And, since most of the people down there may recognise you, you'll be wearing that."

As he spoke, Shisui pulled out a hooded cloak from his haversack, creased and weather-stained. Yukika raised her eyebrows, but said nothing.

Itachi went on. "Last of all, I am going to untie you, on condition that you co-operate. One misstep, and you will be under genjutsu, or dead. There is no third option."

Yukika looked him in the eye. "I will do whatever it takes to save Koyuki-hime," she said fervently. "You have my co-operation."

Itachi nodded, and Shisui unknotted the rope from her wrists. As soon as she was free, Yukika lifted her hands to her mouth and blew on her white fingers. Shisui threw the cloak over her shoulders and pulled the hood down over her face.

"Lead the way," he said to her. "Preferably not into another ambush."

Yukika did not deign to reply, but started downhill. The shinobi followed her as she wound through the last of the trees and stepped out into the open. The snowy meadow lay before them, full of people walking and laughing and playing. Now that they were closer, Naruto could see that there was a sheet of blue-grey ice in the middle of the meadow, where children were running and sliding and falling. There were others further out on the ice, some just standing, others gliding over the surface at some speed. Everyone seemed to be having fun.

On an impulse, he stooped to gather a handful of snow, and patted it into a ball as he walked. As he shaped it, he considered lobbing it at the back of Sasuke's head – he was pretty sure that an unexpected shower of cold snow down the inside of his shirt would make Sasuke squeal like a girl and that was an opportunity too good to pass up – but just as he decided to go ahead with it, he saw that Itachi's head was partly turned, as though he were looking back at him, and he lowered his hand, feeling more than a little unnerved.

Yukika led them along the edge of the meadow, threading through the outskirts of the crowd so that their approach would not be noticed. As they drew near the castle walls, Naruto picked out the shapes of sentries pacing back and forth, and he frowned. If they had Yamato with them, infiltration would be easy and by the book – an inconspicuous _doton_ tunnel, just like the one they had used to break into the Mizushima town hall. He knew that Itachi and Shisui were both veterans of ANBU, but he had no idea what sort of discreet techniques they had for entering a castle in broad daylight.

Closer to, the palace looked even bigger than it had from the mountainside. The stone foundations lifted it a storey or more off the ground, and the actual buildings rose in tiered towers to meet the lowering clouds. Beautiful as it was, there was no doubt that it was designed to be defensible.

"We'll enter through the northern gate," Yukika said. "It's the servants' gate, so it's less heavily guarded, and it will take us through the back ways of the palace."

"Through the gate?" Sakura asked. "Isn't that dangerous?"

Shisui flashed her one of his wicked grins. "What's a mission without a little danger?"

"But it's almost as good as knocking at the front door and demanding to be taken to Uchiha Madara himself."

"Don't worry, Sakura," said Sai. "Shisui-sempai is very good in these situations."

Sakura looked dubiously at Shisui. Yes, she had seen him fight, and yes, he was a remarkable ninja, but walking straight up to the gate and demanding to be let in when the enemy was Akatsuki and they were trying to sneak in unobserved … There was no way they could get away with that, yet both Itachi and Shisui looked confident. Still, if something went wrong – She reached into her hip pouch, her fingers searching through the packets of pills, antidote vials, paper tags and seals until they closed on a sleep bombs.

As they approached the gate, the guards snapped to attention and stepped into the road, crossing their polearms to bar the way. Sakura's hand tightened on the sleep bomb. Hot pricklings were running through her body. This was never going to work – they were going to be arrested here, and then all hell would break loose if she didn't act fast enough with her bomb.

Yukika did not falter, simply walked up to the guards and threw back her hood. "I have brought the ninja that Koyuki-hime requested," she said.

The guards bowed. "Yukika-sama," they said, standing down. "The princess will be glad to hear that they have arrived. We'll send a messenger on ahead."

Sakura's heart was beating rapidly. No, no messenger. Then they would lose the element of surprise altogether.

"Also, we will need to see your identification," one of the guards said, turning to Shisui. "We've heard all sorts of rumours about the ninja war, and we may not let anyone through if they cannot provide proof of identity."

Shisui nodded, smiling, and activated his sharingan. Sakura's breath hitched.

"You don't need to see our identification," he said.

"We don't need to see your identification," said the guard.

Sakura blinked.

Shisui continued in the same gentle, friendly tone. "These aren't the ninja you're looking for."

"These aren't the ninja we're looking for."

Sakura glanced at Naruto, who was equally gobsmacked, his mouth hanging open and his eyes huge with astonishment, and then at Sasuke, who was smiling ever so slightly. Of course, she thought. Sharingan hypnosis.

"You don't need to send a messenger ahead."

"We don't need to send a messenger ahead."

Sakura looked across at the second guard, and from his vacant expression, realised that he had had the misfortune of crossing eyes with Itachi. He leaned more heavily on his polearm, head nodding lower and lower.

Shisui went on. "You'll forget you ever saw us."

"We'll forget we ever saw you."

The second guard slumped against the wall. His polearm fell out of his hand into the snow and rolled a little way down the path, coming to rest at Itachi's feet.

"Move along."

"Move along," said the guard, waving them through. His eyes were slightly glazed.

Sakura quietly put the sleep bomb back in her pouch as the shinobi trooped through the gate.

"Well," said Yukika as she led them across the snowy bailey, "I did not expect that."

Shisui bowed in her direction. "Always eager to surprise, madam. Now, we need somewhere convenient to hide ourselves whilst Naruto and Sai locate Koyuki-san."

"No need," Yukika said. "I know where the princess is at this time of day. Follow me." She started to walk faster.

"How do you know, neechan?" Naruto asked.

Yukika paused, looked back at him. "I _am_ her lady-in-waiting," she said. There was a bite to her tone, and Naruto's face seemed to close off, the corners of his mouth turning down and his eyes becoming opaque. "At this time of day, she's usually in her rooms in the Tenshu." She moved off again. "That's the central keep," she added over one shoulder.

Itachi and Shisui exchanged an almost imperceptible glance before following her. Sakura started after them, checked, and turned back to Naruto. He was standing very still, his fists clenched and his eyes shut.

"Naruto?" she asked hesitantly. "Naruto, are you all right?" She laid one hand on his arm, and he started at her touch, his eyes flying wide open.

"Sakura-chan!" he said. "You surprised me."

"Come on," she said. "We'd better catch up with the others."

Naruto paused for a moment, then nodded. The others had just disappeared into one of the buildings at the far end of the bailey. He didn't have the time to stand around gathering natural energy for sage mode – he'd just have to do it on the move.

Sakura smiled at him, and his heart leaped into his throat. If only he could tell her – if only it weren't for Sasuke – but she was happy with Sasuke, she _loved_ Sasuke, whilst he was just a friend. His chest clenched, and the queer fluttering in his belly died down, and he smiled back at Sakura. She turned and ran across the courtyard, light-footed in the snow, and he followed her.

The castle complex was a veritable labyrinth of storerooms and gatehouses, towers and corridors, gardens and courtyards, halls and residences. The shinobi would have found it difficult to navigate without taking to the rooftops, had it not been for Yukika. She led them unerringly deeper and deeper into the heart of the palace, keeping to the back ways where there was less chance of them being seen. Each time there were people ahead, she redirected them to a safe hiding place, where they could wait until the danger had passed. Once, as they crouched behind a wall, Sasuke looked at her, coiled and tense like a cat about to spring, and thought again of how quickly she had run through the snow in her long dress, and how her first response to being captured was to attack Shisui.

As they moved off again down a long, many-pillared corridor, he fell back to Naruto and Sakura. "You've noticed it too, right?" he asked, careful to keep his voice low. "About Yukika, I mean."

Sakura looked baffled, but Naruto glanced at the woman, then back at Sasuke. "She moves like a ninja," he said.

Sasuke nodded. "The ninja from Yukigakure were working for Dotou last time we were here. Yukika could have been sent to assassinate Koyuki."

Naruto stared at Sasuke in shock, his eyes widening. "Assassinate? But she betrayed us to protect Koyuki-neechan! That – Sasuke – no, I can't believe it."

"I don't either," said Sakura. "Koyuki-san employed the ninja of Yukigakure after she became daimyo to ensure their loyalty. I read it in the mission report. Yukika-san might be a ninja bodyguard who uses the role of lady-in-waiting as her cover."

Sasuke frowned.

"That makes sense," said Naruto, the shock and worry fading from his eyes. "You had me worried there for a moment, Sasuke."

Sasuke shrugged. To have Sakura dismiss his concerns so lightly and so logically made him feel uncomfortable, almost foolish. The back of his neck and his ears were warm.

Yukika stopped quite suddenly before a set of sliding _fusuma_ painted with a flowering plum overhanging a stream. A light mist rose from the water, and irises grew in clumps on the bank. The stream itself did not run smoothly, with eddies and swirls traced in lines of paler blue or deep green. Sai caught his breath audibly at the sight of the painted screens, his eyes brightening.

"Koyuki-hime should be through these doors," Yukika said.

A shiver of anticipation went through Naruto. Koyuki was close by, and perhaps Madara too. There was unknown danger ahead, danger behind. Whatever lay on the other side of the _fusuma_, he would be ready to face it – he would have to be. When they passed through the sliding doors, there would be no going back.

"Is Koyuki-san likely to have company?" Itachi asked in a low voice.

Yukika shook her head. "Just her ladies-in-waiting," she said.

Itachi glanced around at the others. "We'll use a button hook entry," he said, and they nodded one after the other, and then Itachi gripped the door handle and slid it open. Quick as a flash, the ninja shot through, each leaping into their position on opposite sides of the open door.

In one quick glance Naruto took in the room they were in, plain and unadorned save for the _fusuma_ making up the back and the right-hand wall, this time painted with a meadow of flowers, _tatami_ mats on the wooden floors and _shoji_ screens on the left, opened to reveal a snow-dusted garden. Two braziers stood in the corners of the room, keeping it warm despite the chill from the open _shoji_ screens. In the middle of the room, Koyuki knelt on a cushion, a book falling from her hands as she stared in surprise at the ninja. Her hair was loose, falling around her pale face like a dark curtain, and her eyes were very wide and very blue. She was alone.

"What – Naruto!" she exclaimed. "What is going on? Why was I not told you were here? You took so long to arrive – I've been so worried!"

Naruto grinned. "It's a long story," he said. "Itachi-taichou can explain it best." He waved his hand in Itachi's direction, and Koyuki turned to look at him.

"Koyuki-san," he said, "you are in serious danger. We were ambushed on the way here by a member of Akatsuki, and we have reason to believe that the organisation may try to hold you hostage."

Koyuki picked up her book again. "Ambushed by Akatsuki? Hostage?" she asked. Her eyes lost some of their focus, and her tone changed, becoming sharper and colder. Her face seemed curiously blank. "Don't be ridiculous."

The bottom seemed to drop out of Naruto's stomach. Koyuki was warm and friendly, not terse and dismissive, not any more. This was more like the way she had been when living in exile as the actress Fujikaze Yukie, before Sandayuu had brought her back to Snow Country, before she had confronted her usurping uncle Dotou and fought for her life and for her country. This was not the woman who had believed in him on the Rainbow Glacier, her face alight with determination and hope as she shouted that he was a great ninja, nor the smiling woman he had seen made daimyo; she was behaving strangely, which could only mean that Madara had got her in a genjutsu after all. His palms pricked with sweat as his gaze flitted around the room again, looking for a figure in the shadows. Beside him, Sasuke had tensed imperceptibly, his breathing quickening.

Shisui stepped forward. "Koyuki-san," he said, as his sharingan activated, "we are going to take you to safety."

She looked up, straight into his eyes, and a spasm went through her whole body. Her face twisted, as though she were in pain, her brow knotted, her teeth clenched and bared. Unthinking, Naruto took a step towards her, and then stopped, his hands curled into fists. What could he do? He was hopeless at dealing with genjutsu; they were his greatest weakness.

"It looks like she's under an extremely powerful genjutsu," said Itachi quietly. "It's resisting Shisui's cancellation. Sakura, you have excellent chakra control and are good at breaking genjutsu – see if you can force your chakra into her and help disrupt the genjutsu."

Sakura nodded and hurried across to Koyuki. Her body was rigid and sweat was gathering on her forehead as she stared blindly into Shisui's spinning sharingan. Kneeling beside Koyuki, Sakura laid her hands on one of her shoulders – it felt hard as rock, every muscle tensed and quivering – and drew up as much chakra as she could, until her arms and hands were tingling and hot, and in one instant, forced it through her palms and into Koyuki's body. Koyuki jerked, and then, quite suddenly, her face smoothed out and her body went limp, and she slumped forward, her head falling onto her chest. For a moment Sakura thought that the chakra overload had rendered her unconscious, but Koyuki stayed sitting and did not crumple to the floor. Her deep ragged gasps filled the silence of the room.

Naruto let out a breath that he did not know he had been holding, and his hands unclenched. Standing in the doorway behind him, Yukika sighed in relief.

Shisui too was breathing heavily, his eyes bloodshot. "That was more difficult than I expected," he said. "Such a high-level genjutsu …" He winced, screwing his eyes shut and covering them with one hand. "I'm sorry, Itachi. My eyes need a rest."

"Koyuki-san," Sakura said quietly, "are you all right?"

Koyuki raised her head, and looked at Sakura. Her face was ashen, and strands of hair clung to her damp skin. "I think so," she said. "I feel light-headed, but otherwise I'm all right. Thank you."

Shakily, she stood up, brushing her hair from her eyes, and looked at Itachi and Shisui. "You said something about an Akatsuki ambush," she said. "I would like to hear more, and why you think I am in danger."

"We don't know how safe we are here," said Itachi. "It would be best to retreat –"

"I won't run away," Koyuki said. "I did that once before, but it didn't help. In the end I was in just as much danger as I had been before. The only way forward – the only way I could survive – was to stand and fight. Team Seven taught me that." She caught Naruto's eye, and gave a half smile. "So, even if Akatsuki has targeted me, I won't run." She stooped to pick up her book again, and then turned and walked towards the open _shoji_ screens. "Besides, I have a duty now. I won't abandon my people a second time."

Something moved in the garden, and the next moment a great white centipede hurtled through the screens and threw itself around Koyuki.

"Koyuki-hime!" screamed Yukika.

Naruto shot forward, but Sai was suddenly in his way, one arm thrown across his chest to stop him.

"What the hell, Sai?" Naruto asked. He was shaking all over from mingled anger and shock.

"Don't rush in recklessly," Sai said. "That looks like the exploding clay of that Akatsuki member we just fought. If you get too close, it might go off."

Sakura looked round at Sai, her eyes dilated, her face drained of colour. "You mean –"

"He's right, yeah," came a familiar voice, and Sakura felt a cold that had nothing to do with the snow. Turning again, she looked up to see Deidara standing just outside the _shoji_ screen. His hair, streaked with ash and soot, was loose and fell in disarray over his shoulders, and his black cloak was torn and soiled. His eyes glittered with malice, and his lips were parted in an unsettling smile. Half a dozen insect bomblets rested on the open palms of his hands. "Now, hand over the jinchuuriki or the princess goes boom, yeah."

* * *

><p><strong>Dull notes of an explanatory and largely architectural nature<strong>

Most obvious of all is the homage to _Star Wars_ when Shisui hypnotises the gate guard; his and Itachi's interrogation technique earlier on is another reference, this time to Carrot's conversation with Dr Whiteface in Terry Pratchett's _Men At Arms_.

Turning to the description of the new Kazahana Castle and the city of Rebun, the _shinden_ style of architecture in which the Rebun town hall is built dates back to the tenth century, and is the style in which the Heian Palace was built: a central building, joined to secondary buildings by covered walkways and bridges. The design of Kazahana Castle on the other hand is based on the later mediaeval fortress castles, such as Himeji Castle. The golden _shachihoko_ on the roofs of the castle are fantastic creatures with the body of a carp and the head of a tiger. You can see a pair of _shachihoko_ on the roof of Konoha's Kikyo Castle when Gaara attacks Dosu before the Third Chuunin Exam. As for Rebun itself, it takes its name from the real Japanese town of Rebun, known both for its beautiful alpine flowers in the summer and because it is the northernmost town in Japan. Like its fictional counterpart it has a Flower Festival every year.

The castle's bailey is the courtyard enclosed by the outer wall, whilst the inner keep or Tenshu is a strong, central fortified tower. As for the castle's interior decoration, _fusuma_ are sliding panels made of painted paper cloth stretched over a wooden framework. The _shoji_ are essentially the same in construction, though the paper used is translucent to allow light to filter through, and is unpainted. _Tatami_ mats are straw mats covered by woven soft rushes, and are used to cover the floor in traditional rooms in Japanese houses.


	8. Fireworks

This chapter took a bit longer than I expected, but here it is, written and beta-ed and emended at long last. Many thanks once again to Just Subliminal for both her encouragement and her criticisms.

Also, I was really astonished and happy about the sheer number of reviews and alerts and favourites over the last month. Thank you to all of you! Knowing that people are reading and enjoying the story gives me the inspiration and energy to keep on writing.

* * *

><p>Chapter Eight<p>

Fireworks

Sharingan active, Sasuke stared at Deidara, cursing himself. He _should_ have gone back, should have put a chidori through him after he fell, and then they would not be in their current predicament. Hostage situations never ended well – there was what had happened to Shisui's brother Obito – and this time the hostage was not just someone they knew, she was also a daimyo. If Deidara decided to blow her up –

He stopped. No, he thought, he can't just detonate the centipede, not with his hands full of bombs. He has to throw them first, and that should give me enough time for a chidori.

The next instant, Yukika flew forward and struck Naruto in the back. Taken by surprise, the boy stumbled, falling against Sai and knocking him off balance.

"Here he is!" Yukika screamed. "Take him, take the jinchuuriki!"

She thrust Naruto forward, and Sasuke saw that there was something attached to his lower back, something metal with cables that had torn through the boy's clothes and embedded themselves in his flesh. With his sharingan, he could see that it was sucking Naruto's chakra out of him at an alarming rate – it would be a matter of seconds before he was drained dry.

His eyes darted back to Yukika, caught in a stranglehold by Itachi, and then to Deidara, just in time to see him hurl his handful of bomblets into the room. It was all happening so fast – there was hardly any time for him to charge up his chidori – Sakura was scrambling backwards, arms up to shield her face from the bombs – Deidara's hands were already forming a seal – he wasn't going to make it in time –

"_Katsu!_"

The room was torn by the explosions, the _shoji_ screens and the _fusuma_ bellying outwards and ripping. For an instant, Sasuke felt the searing heat on his skin, and then the blast hit him, numbing him and throwing him backwards like a ragdoll. His eyes were filled with a fiery orange glow. Through the immense noise, he could make out a thin high shrieking. Let it not be Sakura, he thought. Whoever that is, let it not be Sakura; let her be unharmed.

A dry, detached voice at the back of his mind pointed out that they'd just been caught up in an explosion and that they were probably all about to die.

_Yes, you'll die, all of you, including Sakura and Itachi. If only you weren't so weak, then Sakura wouldn't be screaming _… _I can give you power …_

His curse seal throbbed, once, twice, and then with a rush it broke through the fuuja houin, racing over his body like fire. He hit the ground, skidded on his side, and then got his feet under him and rose up, a flood of heat and strength washing through his veins. All around him tongues of flame were licking at the wooden pillars, crackling through the woven tatami mats.

It was not Sakura who was screaming, but Yukika, sitting on her knees and wailing Koyuki's name over and over. Naruto and Sai lay near by, Sai clearly winded and struggling for breath. Naruto's eyes were shut and his body was limp. Blood was running from his nostrils. A choking, boiling rage began to build in Sasuke's chest, and he swung to face Deidara, his sharingan blazing red.

Deidara's mouth was grinning, his eyes a brilliant blue. In front of him lay the charred remains of what had been Koyuki, exploded into little pieces and burned to ash.

Sasuke did not even think, simply thrust chakra to his feet and hurtled forward. Taken by surprise, Deidara did not move fast enough and Sasuke's hand closed on his throat. Digging his fingers in, he began to squeeze, his fury giving him the strength to lift the man bodily from the ground.

Deidara clutched at Sasuke's arm, trying to prise his hand from his throat. His lips were twisted back from his teeth. "You bastard," he croaked. "Let go."

_You have the power now … feel it, use it … You can do anything you want now …_

Sasuke gave a cold smile. "I want to see your pain," he said, his fingers tightening. His heart was pounding with excitement. So this was the feeling, this was the way …

Deidara's grimace altered, his lips curving up into a wolf-like grin. "See ya, yeah," he said, and the flesh under Sasuke's fingers suddenly gave way to yielding clay. The hands that had been plucking at his arm closed on his wrist, locking it in place. At once, Sasuke tugged back, but the clay tightened, holding him fast.

He set his teeth, focused the chakra surging through him, and sent a blast of chidori raging through the clay clone. It exploded in a hail of blue lightning, the screeching of the chidori filling Sasuke's ears, and he sprang back a pace, eyes skimming the room for Deidara. His arm was burning from the power of the chidori, a sweet ache in his muscles from the enormous amount of electrically-charged chakra that had surged through him and into the clay.

"Over here, yeah," came the mocking voice, and Sasuke looked round to see him in the garden, hands closed and working busily on some new explosive.

He would not get away this time. Sasuke wanted to hurt him, hurt him for real, hear the snapping of bones and the screams for pain, to feel the fear, the panic. There had been that boy in the Forest of Death, the one who had hurt Sakura – he remembered the sound and the feeling of the boy's arms coming out of their sockets, that sudden pop and give, and the clear sharp crunch as he had snapped them, remembered even better the hot tingling in his veins as the cursed seal had released such chakra as he had only ever dreamed about. He felt it again now: there was such tremendous power in his body, heat and strength and vigour, that the sensation made him almost giddy.

Suddenly, a cloud of purple smoke erupted around him, and he jumped backwards, out of the dense haze, coughing and blinking. The next moment, there were arms around him, and a voice in his ear, telling him to stop, and the thundering of his heart slowed. Sakura, it was Sakura, and her arms were warm, close around him like his mother's when he was small. The heat in his body died down, and his mind cooled, became clear again.

"Come on, Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, tugging at his sleeve. Her voice quavered and her eyes were wet.

Was she frightened of him? His belly twisted as he turned to follow her. He'd lost control again – he – oh, _damn_.

The room was ablaze, flames burning through the _tatami_ mats and leaping higher and higher around the pillars and the painted screens. Smoke filled the air, stinging Sasuke's eyes and bringing tears to them. It was difficult to draw breath. Beside him, Sakura was coughing, choking on the smoke.

"Quickly, Sakura, Sasuke."

Through the crackling flames, Sasuke saw Itachi standing in the doorway, a violently shuddering Koyuki in his arms. He blinked, not quite comprehending the scene, but there was no time to ask questions. Already there were shouts from the corridor and the sound of running footsteps. The guards must have heard the explosions, he realised.

There was the whir of wings behind him. Galvanised into action, Sasuke seized Sakura's arm and hurled himself across the flames and through the doorway, pulling Sakura into the corridor after him just as the little white bird exploded against the door frame, pelting them with fragments of baked clay and splintered wood. It collapsed inwards, and with a _whumph_, the fire broke through the _fusuma_ panels, the painted plum tree and iris withering in the flames.

"Get up!" said Itachi. "This way! Quickly!"

Sasuke and Sakura stumbled to their feet and ran after him. The fire was roaring now, the wooden floor and paper walls of the corridor catching light around them. The heat of the flames beat upon their backs. Sparks showered down around them, burning their skin.

Sasuke did not think to ask his brother where they were going, just followed him as they tore down the corridor, hearts thundering, feet pounding against the floor. Sakura ran beside him, her hand clasped in his own, his fingers tight around hers. He was not going to let go, not here. They were all getting out together.

Ahead of them, he saw Sai's giant ink birds, stained with a rosy light. Shisui and Yukika were scrambling up onto one of them, whilst Sai hauled Naruto's limp form onto another. From beyond them came the tramping of booted feet.

That must be the guards, Sasuke thought. They'll be here any second, and then we'll be neatly trapped between them and the fire and Deidara – and then they'll take us to Madara.

"The guards are here! Get on!" Sai yelled, dropping to one knee to steady himself as his bird took off. "Hurry!"

Sasuke and Sakura flung themselves at the closest bird, grabbing its ink feathers and pulling themselves up onto its back as it lifted off. With a stroke of its enormous wings, it gained the air, and sped forward, streaking after the other birds. Sasuke caught a blurred glimpse of armed men below them, their faces up-turned and the red light of the fire glowing on their helmets, and then the ink bird banked steeply to make a sharp left-hand turn, and for a sickening moment he thought he might fall, but Sakura's hand was gripping his and glancing at her he could see the glow of her chakra enveloping her hands and feet as she clung doggedly to the bird's back.

The bird righted itself again, and Sasuke dug his fingers into its feathers. The wind created by their speed beat in his face, whipping his hair back from his eyes, and a sudden exhilaration surged within him. To fly so swiftly, to fly with such strength! The rushing sound of the bird's wings filled his ears. When he looked back, Itachi was following on one of his crows, Koyuki slumped against him. She seemed to have fainted, from shock, perhaps.

Again a sharp turn, again the lurch as the bird rolled and then righted itself. There was cold blue daylight ahead, and Sasuke turned to Sakura. "Be prepared for an ambush!" he called to her over the beating of the bird's wings.

She nodded, and drew a kunai from her thigh holster. He rose to one knee, moulding chakra for a chidori, his sharingan active, gritting his teeth against the throbbing in his neck and shoulder. He had to be ready as they broke out into the open – only he had the lightning to counter the exploding clay.

For an instant the light was blotted out by Sai and Shisui's birds as they shot through it. With a rushing of wings, Sasuke and Sakura's own bird had reached it and sped through, the two ninja ducking to keep from knocking their heads against the top of the window. As they emerged into the daylight, Sasuke's gaze swept the overcast sky above and the snowy roofs all around and below, seeking out any sign of Deidara.

"Behind!" shouted Shisui, and Sasuke swung round.

Great billows of flame and smoke were rising from the wing of the palace they had just escaped from. There, mounting into the air with powerful strokes of its massive wings, stained red by the light of the fire, was a dragon. On its back stood Deidara, his hair streaming about his shoulders, his cloak billowing in the updrafts created by the flames.

"A dragon!" said Sakura. "He made a dragon! If that explodes –"

"He's just a show-off," said Sasuke, gritting his teeth. The pain in his shoulder was getting stronger, pounding, pounding.

Itachi's crow circled round and joined them. "We must lead him away from the palace and Rebun," Itachi said. "Otherwise he'll use them against us. I could save Koyuki-san with a substitution jutsu, but we can't save an entire city."

"How do we do that?" Sasuke asked. "He won't want to give up the advantage of location if he can help it."

Itachi glanced away, and following his gaze, Sakura saw a great ink bird streaking away down the valley, carrying Sai and the unconscious Naruto.

"No," she said. "You can't mean to use him as bait."

Itachi shrugged. "He's Deidara's target anyway. Watch out – here comes the first volley!"

The crow slipped sideways in the air, rising above the approaching bomblets. Drawing on the last of his chakra, Sasuke cast a hail of chidori needles, skewering the clay missiles in mid-flight. As they tumbled out of the air and burst harmlessly on the palace roofs below, Sasuke sank back to his knees, clutching his shoulder and breathing hard. He felt an overwhelming desire to vomit.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura dropped down beside him at once, her face anxious.

"I'll be – all right," he panted. "Just – overdid it. You – keep an eye out." He glared at her, but she looked at him with a mixture of fear and doubt on her face. He could see her hands shaking.

"Sakura! Sasuke! Fall back!" Itachi's sharp command rang through the air, and they obeyed unhesitatingly.

"Follow Shisui," Itachi called, ranging alongside them. "Head for the mountains, away from the city."

"What about you?" Sasuke asked.

"I'll be following you, never fear," Itachi said. "Now go on!"

Sakura nodded, and the crow peeled off, circling back and around for Sai and Naruto. Itachi glanced over his shoulder to see Sasuke on all fours, his head hanging, Sakura bending over him, and his chest tightened with a surge of that old emotion he felt whenever his little brother was vulnerable. Sasuke was in no state to fight now. As long as he was off the battlefield – He watched them for a moment longer before returning his attention to Deidara.

The dragon was already in pursuit of Sai's bird, which was doubling and diving, then climbing up into the sky again in an effort to shake it off. Yes, as he had thought, Deidara was ignoring the other escaping birds. He was after Naruto, and now that the rest of them were out of the way, they no longer mattered.

He crouched down on his crow's back, one hand resting on its back, the other holding Koyuki's unconscious body. "Catch up with that dragon!"

The crow cawed, and shot forward. Itachi narrowed his eyes against the tearing air, never taking his gaze from the dragon and the bird dodging and swooping round and round. The wind snatched his breath away, cutting and cold, and his heart skipped a beat and then began its irregular thundering once again.

The castle was behind him now, Rebun streaming away below. Ahead, the white bird darted and ducked through a shower of exploding bomblets, wheeling and rolling amidst the bursts of flame, vivid red against the louring clouds. It was a beautiful display of aerial agility amongst brilliant fireworks, beautiful but deadly. One wrong step and Sai's bird would be destroyed, dropping Naruto straight into the open jaws of the dragon.

Somehow, Sai managed to guide the bird through the explosions, rising above them and heading further down the valley, away from Rebun now and out across the snowbound forest. The dragon followed, snapping at the bird's tail. Itachi crouched even lower on the crow's back, making himself as small and streamlined as possible as they sped in pursuit. Shielded from the wind by his arms and body, Koyuki lay still, her head lolling on her chest, her hair dishevelled and streaming in tangles over her face.

A sharp pain leaped from behind his collarbone into his chest, and his heart bounded and hammered harder. He would have to finish this quickly, quickly. His mouth a thin straight line, Itachi took his hand from the crow's back and reached for a fistful of shuriken. The dragon was just ahead, just ahead, and in a moment he would be level with it. Deidara did not seem to have seen him – his back was towards him, and he was laughing gleefully, his hands digging into his clay pouches.

This was as good a chance as he would get. He cast his shuriken rapidly one after the other, breathing burning chakra over them as they left his hand, and then, not pausing to see whether they had hit, directed the crow upwards and to the right, across the dragon's path. There was a _boom_, and the heat and pressure of an explosion that threw the crow even higher, and clay shrapnel flew everywhere. Below the crow, the dragon lurched sideways in the air, its one undamaged wing beating frantically to keep the ponderous body aloft whilst the remains of the other wing smouldered. Deidara was cursing, his hands working quickly as he moulded more bombs from his exploding clay.

The crow dove, dropping in an almost perpendicular plunge from the clouds, and Itachi drew his tantō and struck down as they hurtled past the dragon's head. The short sword bit into the spongy clay, and slid through it as easily as a hot knife through butter, shearing the head clean from the neck.

Completely unbalanced now, the dragon plummeted towards the ground. The crow spread its wings and pulled out of its dive, just as the dragon struck the snowy forest below. With his sharingan, Itachi was certain that he saw Deidara spring clear just before the dragon detonated and the pine trees flared up like kindling in the fireball. He paused to catch his breath and to let the wild thundering of his heart subside – he could not afford to face an Akatsuki member whilst in danger of blacking out – he had promised Sasuke he'd follow him, after all.

Koyuki's face twitched, and she stirred. Itachi sheathed his tantō, and waited for her to come round. His sharingan swept the forest below ceaselessly, searching for any movement, any flicker of chakra that might tell him exactly where Deidara was. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Sai's bird returning to him. Judging by the sprawled orange mass across its back, Naruto was still comatose. Unusual, he thought. The boy normally has the resilience of a rubber ball. That device Yukika placed on him must still be draining his chakra, or at least restraining it. The sooner it comes off, the better.

Koyuki groaned, and raised her head. "I – oh, I feel bruised all over," she said, then screwed up her eyes and put a hand to her forehead. "My head hurts as well."

"Don't push yourself, Koyuki-san," Itachi said. "You've narrowly escaped being blown up, and you were under an extremely powerful genjutsu. It's only natural to feel shaky."

She gave him a wan smile. "So, where are we?" she asked.

"Several miles down the valley from Rebun and Kazahana Castle. We had to draw Akatsuki away from your people, using Naruto as bait." Her composure was impressive for someone who had been pinioned in the coils of an incendiary centipede, very nearly exploded, and then woken up on the back of an enormous crow that was riding the updraft created by a forest fire more than two hundred feet below, but he still thought it prudent not to mention the fact that her castle was currently on fire.

"Naruto!" Koyuki sat bolt upright and glanced around. "Where is he? Is he all right?"

She caught sight of Sai's bird approaching them, and Naruto sprawled upon it. "He overdid it again, didn't he?" she said, shaking her head.

Without warning the crow slipped sideways in the air, so that Itachi had to grab Koyuki by the arm to keep her on the bird's back. Something small and white whizzed past their faces and Itachi ducked his head, throwing one arm up to protect his eyes just as it exploded above them, heat searing his skin. His nostrils were filled with the smell of singed hair and feathers and clothing.

Through his lashes he glimpsed another missile streak past. Instantly, he thrust Koyuki down on the crow's back. "Stay there!" he said. "And hold on!"

The next moment the air around them seemed to boil with heat and sound, as bomblet after bomblet detonated. Crouched above Koyuki, Itachi could only cling to his crow as it was buffeted by the explosions all around. The noise was tremendous, pounding in his ears and his chest. Flame flared and smoke and ash billowed around and over and under them. Sight, sound, his ability to move freely – he had to hand it to the Akatsuki nin. He had caught him off guard and now he was trapped, forced to weather the attack while the other ninja could ready his next assault.

His next assault! Suddenly anxious, Itachi looked in the direction of Naruto and Sai, his sharingan spinning as he strained to see the boys through the explosions. Was that the flickering wing of the ink bird? Or was it Deidara back in the sky?

There were fewer explosions now, and Itachi stared and stared through the pall of smoke that hung heavy in the upper air. His eyes were stinging, and his throat was dry and aching; his breath came with difficulty. Through the ringing in his ears he could hear Koyuki coughing. As the smoke drifted apart for a moment, he saw the ink bird, still whole, still with its precious passenger on its back. He opened his mouth to call to them, but even as he did so, a bomb rocketing up from below struck the underside of the bird and detonated.

The bird seemed to melt, fountains of ink spraying in all directions. Sai and Naruto were thrown into the air by the force of the blast, helpless as ragdolls, and then they began to fall. In an instant, Itachi's hands had flown together, fingers flickering as he flashed through a series of seals, and two more crows appeared in mid-air, catching the boys on their backs.

There was no time to see if they were all right. He had to find Deidara and kill him. This fight had gone on too long, been too loud and flashy. Madara must know exactly where they were – he was probably already on his way.

He turned to Koyuki. Her face was still scarlet from the heat of the explosions, her brow and cheeks smudged with ash and soot, but she seemed otherwise unharmed.

"Go with Sai and Naruto," he said to her. "Head for the mountains – find Shisui and the others. The crows will know where to take you."

She nodded, her chin set and determined. Her eyes had a steely glint to them, and Itachi was reminded of frost on the dark flowers of the mountain iris.

"Take care," he said to her as he rose to his feet and headed for the crow's tail. Below them, he could see flames leaping in amongst the snowy conifers. There was no sign of Deidara. "Fly as fast as you can."

He launched himself from the back of the crow, forming hand seals as he did so. As he dropped, he gave himself up to the air, relaxed as a tumbling cat, so that when the next summoned crow appeared beneath his feet, he landed lightly and easily. Glancing up, he saw the others making a large arc to get around and back up to the mountains. The clouds above them were heavier, lower, a massing grey blanket that seemed to be sinking down upon the birds, and there was an edge to the air, a scent or a feeling of something heavy and cold and crisp that hurt his lungs. His heart was still beating unevenly, the quicksilver pains beneath his collarbones coming closer together. He could taste metal at the back of his mouth.

Itachi turned his gaze back to the forest. The fire was still burning, patches of luminous orange glowing amongst the black pines and white snow, but it was struggling to take hold beyond the area that the dragon had exploded. A thin, pink-tinged smoke haze drifted through the trees. Deidara was almost certainly down there, using the shelter provided by the trees to keep out of sight.

"Go lower," he told his crow, and the bird stooped.

Some fifteen or twenty feet above the tree tops, Itachi directed it to level out, and they swung in circles above the pines. At this height he could hear the crackling of the fire and the hiss and whine of wet wood burning over the heavy _swish_, _swish_ of the crow's wingbeats. His sharingan captured every little detail – sparks scattering from a falling branch, clusters of needles catching light, curling up and shrivelling in the heat before they broke loose and dropped to the ground like blossoms of flame, the sudden bright flare as a beard of flame engulfed a sapling and consumed it like a torch.

Something moved in the trees off to one side. Itachi's eyes darted towards it, tracking the quick, stealthy motion between the branches. Whoever it was was good at not being seen, but now that his sharingan had locked on, he could piece together the flickering glimpses of movement, putting them together to make the picture of a cloaked man leaping from branch to branch. It was all he needed, and he jumped from the crow's back into the trees.

The resinous scent of the pines enfolded him as he landed amongst them, the impact shaking the snow from their branches, so that it fell pattering to the ground. Deidara glanced back at the sound, eyes widening as he saw Itachi spring towards him. He spun, a pair of miniature clay hawks bursting from his outthrust hands and speeding towards Itachi, who countered with a katon, and the birds exploded.

"You're just wasting your chakra," Itachi told him as the smoke cleared. "My sharingan can see through all your attacks."

Deidara sneered. "You think you're so talented with your special eyes, when you have no true talent at all. You've never had to work, but just rely on your sharingan, don't you, Uchiha Itachi? I know about you – I know all about you and your doujutsu, and the way that you Uchiha mistake your eyes for your own power."

"What about you?" Itachi asked mildly. "You have a kekkei genkai too."

"So you know about bakuton? I'll bet it was that old sack of wrinkles Oonoki, wasn't it?" Deidara shrugged. "Well, that doesn't really matter – not Oonoki, not bakuton. You're content with just your sharingan – you think it makes you superior to everyone else – but I – I want to be more than my bloodline limit, and I am!"

He brandished one hand at Itachi, the mouth in his palm grinning, its long pink tongue waggling impudently. "They kept this jutsu locked up in Iwa, wouldn't let anybody learn it, but I have. I've taken it and made it my own, made it into art. What have you ever done, Uchiha, except rely on your eyes?"

There was a tap on his shoulder, and reflexively he turned to look straight into Itachi's spinning sharingan.

"You talk too much," said Itachi, dispelling the crow bunshin that had held Deidara's attention as the other nin's eyes glazed over and his outstretched hand drooped lifeless at his side. Itachi drew a kunai from the holster strapped to his thigh, twirled it once to get it into the position he wanted, and then took a firm grip on its handle.

Something cold and feathery touched Itachi's face, and he glanced up at the sky. Snow was falling from the clouds, just a few scattered flakes drifting through the still air, and Itachi realised this must have been that clean crisp scent he had smelled earlier on.

Suddenly, Deidara spun around, his hand flashing out. Itachi jerked back and to one side, raising his kunai to block and parry the blow, but there was not enough room on the branch to dodge properly, and Deidara moved just fast enough to get through his guard. There was a sharp stinging sensation in his arm – couldn't be too deep then – nothing seriously damaged – his heart flurrying wildly – he must finish this fast –

He made as if to punch Deidara, and as the other ninja ducked, caught him by the back of the head, his fingers knotting into the mane of thick fair hair and yanking hard so that he could hold Deidara's head in place, forcing him to stare straight into the sharingan.

"Genjutsu won't work on me," panted Deidara, his face flushed, his lips peeled back from his teeth in an exhilarated grin. The pupil of his left eye had contracted to the size of a pinpoint. "I've been training for this since meeting that copy cat Kakashi."

Itachi frowned. If regular genjutsu was out of the question, then – His lids slid down over his eyes as he dredged up his chakra. He had not wanted to use this, but he had no other choice, and time was passing, each second bringing the threat of Madara closer.

His eyes flew open again and his gaze locked with that of Deidara. For a long moment they stared at each other, faces almost pressed together, Deidara's teeth clenched in a grin that looked more like a grimace. His pinpoint pupil seemed to be trembling, and then, quite abruptly, it dilated, and Deidara screamed in agony. His voice broke, raw and rough with a terrible anguish and fear.

Itachi released him and he dropped to hands and knees, his chest heaving, his gaze blank. His entire body was trembling, his hands shaking so badly that he could not hold his kunai and it fell to the ground below. Itachi heard the thud of its landing, but his eyes were throbbing and his vision was so blurred that he could barely make out Deidara's face. He blinked to clear his sight, but when he opened his eyes, everything was still hazy, seen as through a veil. No matter – he could still cut the other man's throat.

He raised his own kunai again, squinting against the pain at the backs of his eyes. The snow was falling faster now, cold flakes touching his hand and his face. Good, he thought, coughing a little. No one will be able to track me from here.

His chest suddenly seized up, as though a great iron hand had hold of his lungs and heart and was squeezing them. A spasm of pain went through him, and he clutched at his chest, fingers twisting into his shirt, coughing violently. His mouth tasted of metal, and he spat. Hazily, he saw red blotches in the palm of his hand, and his heart leaped against his breastbone, hammering and bounding so violently that he could hear it.

Not now, he thought. Damn it, not now.

He started to reach for his hip pouch before remembering that his medication was no longer there, lost in the attack on the Allied division outside Kirigakure. He would be fine – it would pass.

He straightened up, looked at Deidara's bowed head, and then another spasm went through his chest. He doubled up, racked by pain, coughing and coughing until he retched. His eyes ached, his wounded arm was throbbing, his heart was pounding so wildly that he thought it might burst. Waves of black spots shimmered before his eyes, and he knew that he was going to pass out. He had to get his back to the trunk, had to lean against something that would support him when he did lose consciousness.

Still coughing, he started towards the trunk, and then, quite suddenly, his legs gave way beneath him, and he collapsed sideways into thin air. A moment later, he hit the ground with a bone-jarring thump, and lay still. The falling snow settled on him, powdering his hair and clothes, touching his face and hands for an instant before melting.

Presently, he came back to himself. His first thought was that he wished he hadn't. He was cold, cold and stiff, and not one muscle felt good. The snow stung his already aching eyes.

He had to finish Deidara off.

The thought came to him with a final certainty. He absolutely had to kill the rogue ninja before he came after them again. If he did not, none of them would be safe, not Naruto, not Koyuki, none of them, not even Sasuke. He gritted his teeth. Nothing would harm Sasuke as long as he lived.

That isn't likely to be very long, he thought wryly. Almost out of chakra – wounded, though the cold has slowed the bleeding – eyes strained – and to top it all off –

As he rose slowly to his feet, his heart accelerated again, and his breathing was shallow. He stood for a moment, swaying unsteadily, and then looked up through the curtain of drifting flakes. Yes, Deidara was still slumped on the branch they had fought on, still staring at the horrors that he had seen in the genjutsu. Somehow he would have to get back up there, even if he had to drag himself all the way.

His chest tightened, and his hands rose to his heart, pressing down as though they could calm its wild thundering, force it back into its proper place. No, he thought, no, I won't be seeing Sasuke again.

He could almost hear Sasuke's reply, even the petulant edge that his voice had when he was upset or his will had been thwarted. _But, nii-san, you promised!_

He had promised, yes, but he was good at breaking promises to Sasuke. How many times had he brushed him off with a flick of his forehead, and the words _Sorry, Sasuke, another time_! He probably hadn't been a particularly good older brother.

Yet he _had_ kept some promises, the important ones. There was the one he had made as he and Sasuke sat on the verandah one summer evening, telling him that he would always be there for him, because that was what elder brothers were for. That had been just after Sasuke started at the Academy and he had been promoted to ANBU – ten, no, eleven years ago now – where had the time gone? And there had been the vow he had sworn over the newborn Sasuke as he held the little bundle of blankets close and looked down at the crumpled face with its tuft of dark hair and enormous bluish eyes. He had leaned over his little brother and whispered fiercely that he loved him and would protect him forever. And he had managed to keep that promise, until Sasuke turned twelve and was assigned to a genin team, and then it had all gone to hell. Seeing his brother in the hospital when they did not know if he would live or die, his breath clouding the respirator, the skin under his eyes blue-veined and nearly translucent, and that great welt on his neck, that abhorrent seal with three tomoe, a mockery of the sharingan – in that moment he had wanted nothing so much as to hunt Orochimaru down and snap his neck with his bare hands. He had stood above his little brother's bed and repeated that first vow he had made, his body shaking with fury and fear and a deep desperate love.

And now there was Madara, Madara who was hunting Naruto for the Kyuubi and Sasuke for something else. Somehow, he had to protect Sasuke from him. He knew that he could kill Orochimaru – he _would_ kill him, if their paths ever crossed – but Madara? Impossible.

He took a step towards Deidara's tree, and then paused. There was a queer creeping feeling in his skin, a sense of approaching danger. He glanced around, but could see nothing save the tall dark trees and the falling snow, heavier now. The last glowing patches of fire were dying down, choked by the hundreds upon hundreds of falling flakes. No-one was here, but the hair on the back of his neck had risen and his body was tingling.

Half a dozen feet away was a stand of young pines which would afford some sort of screen, if not actual protection. Itachi pushed his way in between them, needles pricking at his face and catching in his hair, and crouched down, his hand going to his thigh holster. His vision was still blurry, but his eyes hurt too much for him to use the sharingan.

A gust of wind bent the tops of the saplings and hurled the snowflakes through the air. Peering through his eyelashes, Itachi thought he saw movement in Deidara's tree, and stared at it, willing his eyes to pierce the moving veil of whiteness and to see. His body tensed, and he rose onto the balls of his feet, ready to move.

Was there something in the tree? He could not be sure. As the wind dropped, his eyes travelled over the tree, but there was nothing there. Nothing! His blood seemed to turn to ice water in his veins, and he looked back at the branch where he and Deidara had fought. It was empty.

One quick flashing glance all around him and he knew that Deidara had somehow gone. There was no body on the ground, nor any movement in the forest. Had he been able to pick himself up and escape during that blast of wind? Or had there been someone else in the wind and the snow?

Itachi sat still a moment longer, half-wondering if it were a trick, if perhaps Deidara or the other person were lying in wait, ready to ambush him as soon as he showed himself. He held himself ready, looking, listening, keeping his breath as quiet and as light as possible. The forest was quiet, filled with the whispering of the snow.

Slowly, he rose to his feet, the branches of the sapling pines brushing against him, their needles scratching against his skin and clothes. Even in the intense cold he could smell their aromatic tang, however faint it was, and he drew a deep, steadying breath of it into his lungs. The emptiness of the forest made him more anxious than the presence of an enemy. He knew of only one man who could appear and disappear at will, and make others vanish without a trace.

He had to get back to Sasuke.

Down on the ground, surrounded by trees and drifting snow, he could not see the mountains above Rebun, but that was no real problem, not when he had the smouldering remains of Deidara's dragon to show him the way. He began to trudge back up the valley, towards the dying fire and the blackened trees, feet squeaking in the snow. Before long, one of his hands rose to his chest, as though impelled by some external force, and stayed there, pressed to his heart. He kept on, head bowed, mouth set in a grim line.

He passed the devastation of the dragon, plodding slowly through the pines. The snow was falling increasingly heavily, and in a few minutes, he had disappeared behind the veil of flakes, leaving nothing but charred trees and lumps of clay behind. The last weak flames licked over a fallen trunk, hissing as the flakes touched them. Lower and lower they flickered, until at last they were mere embers glowing like luminous red eyes in the black bark, and still the snow kept pouring from the clouds.

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><p><strong>Notes of reference and attribution<strong>

The idea of Shisui and Obito being brothers is one that Just Subliminal has allowed me to steal from her story _Second Bloom_. If you haven't read it yet, I definitely recommend checking it out - it's exciting, entertaining, and very well-written, with a roller coaster plot and believable, interesting characters. And it is much, much longer than this story, so you'll have plenty of good reading to keep you occupied.

The only other point of any interest in this chapter is the description of Itachi's tantō cutting through the dragon's head "like a hot knife through butter". This was a stalling point for an hour or so whilst I tried to see if there was any equivalent idiom in Japanese, which would be more appropriate to the setting of the story, especially since butter is not a traditional Japanese food. The closest I came was _asameshi-mae_, literally "before breakfast", meaning that something is extremely easy to do. For a brief moment, "The short sword bit into the spongy clay, and slid through it as easily as before breakfast" was considered, but catchy as it was, it just didn't sound quite right ...

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><p><strong>The omake you didn't really want<strong>

In which Itachi talks like a research paper. And references things. A lot.

Disclaimer: this is how chapters threaten to turn out when I have spent the last six weeks writing essays. You have been warned.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

The resinous scent of the pines enfolded him as he landed amongst them, the impact shaking the snow from their branches, so that it fell pattering to the ground. Deidara glanced back at the sound, eyes widening as he saw Itachi spring towards him. He spun, a pair of miniature clay hawks bursting from his outthrust hands and speeding towards Itachi, who countered with a katon, and the birds exploded.

"You're just wasting your chakra," Itachi told him as the smoke cleared. "My sharingan can see through all your attacks …"

Deidara sneered. "You think you're so talented with your special eyes," he began, but Itachi kept droning on.

"… _vide_ Sasuke's explanation in manga chapter 12. This is thanks to its ability to see chakra, both its flow, as Obito states in manga chapter 243, and its colour, pointed out by Sasuke in manga chapter 361 …"

"Hey!" said Deidara. "I get it, I get it, your eyes are great and all. You don't need to explain every last ability. I mean, I know it's convention, but, really, can we just get on with the story?"

Itachi continued as though he had not heard. "… perception (see, for example, chapter 361 where my lipstick-wearing brother proves capable of seeing nano-bombs moving inside his bloodstream), as well as its capacity for tracking fast motion (demonstrated by Sasuke in manga chapter 26) and, when fully developed, predicting it …"

A small vein was beginning to throb in Deidara's temple, and he dug into his clay pouches. People who were capable of pronouncing parentheses did not deserve to live.

"In addition to rendering taijutsu useless, these eyes also allow me to copy your ninjutsu down to the last little detail, as Zabuza points out in chapter 12. However, despite the sharingan's many remarkable functions, my speciality lies in the realm of genjutsu. I can reflect genjutsu back upon their caster using _magen: kyō tenchi-ten_, which I demonstrated upon Kurenai in manga chapter 141 …"

"Ok," said Deidara through gritted teeth, "I'll be nice and count down from five, just to give you fair warning, yeah."

Itachi rambled on, apparently oblivious to his impending doom. " … illusions accompanying stories that I tell with the result that my audience believes themselves to be in the world of the story."

"Five."

"This is most notably shown in chapter 386 …"

"Four."

"… I fight to the death with Sasuke."

"Three."

"At this point, it should be noted that the manga and this current story are clearly divergent …"

"Two." A tic began under Deidara's left eye.

"… no intention of battling Sasuke …"

"One."

" … which brings us to the fundamental distinction between reality and perception, or perhaps reality and illusion."

"Zero, time's up, shut up, _katsu_, yeah!"

As the smoke cleared, Deidara sneered at the charred remains of Uchiha Itachi. "Seriously, you talk too much."

There was a tap on his shoulder, and reflexively he turned to look straight into Itachi's spinning sharingan.

"Nobody interrupts me when I'm giving a lecture," said Itachi, his voice low and menacing as the three tomoe of his sharingan merged and changed shape. "Now, I think seventy-two hours should give us just enough time to get through the topic of illusion and reality. We will start with the ancient Greek philosophy of scepticism. Tsukuyomi!"


	9. The Inn at Saruyama

Term's over, the holidays are here, and I have time to write again! Here's hoping that I'll get chapters up rather more regularly over the summer.

Thanks once again to my beta, Just Subliminal - without her encouragement, this chapter would have been even longer in coming, as it was within an inch of being scrapped wholesale and started all over again. Thanks also to everyone who put the story on their favourites and alerts, and to those who reviewed.

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><p>Chapter Nine<p>

The Inn at Saruyama

As the first flakes of snow began to fall in the mountains above Rebun, Sakura and Sasuke stood at the top of a steep, jumbled slope of rock and loose gravel, panting and flushed. Sakura's shirt was torn and bloodied above her hip, and there were specks of gravel ground into the palms of Sasuke's hands. Both of them were splattered in black ink. Just below them, Shisui was seated on one of the boulders, rubbing his temples. His eyes were bloodshot, and he kept closing them.

"Any sign of them?" he asked.

"No, none," said Sasuke. "The forest is still burning."

"As is Kazahana Castle," said Yukika, nodding at the smoke billowing from the Tenshu. She was leaning against Shisui's rock, her face sad and still, her cheeks streaked with tearstains. Her hands were bound once again.

Looking down at the woman, Sakura could feel no sympathy for her, not after she had tried to betray them to Akatsuki twice. The image of Naruto crumpled on the burning floor with blood leaking from his nostrils was vivid in her mind. She had never seen him so vulnerable, not since the Forest of Death, and it made her feel strange inside. Even worse was the knowledge that he was still out there and that something had happened to Sai – the ink birds would not have disappeared in mid-air unless Sai had been knocked out or his scroll destroyed – and Naruto had been riding with Sai. It was all Yukika's fault that everything had gone so horribly wrong, and the bruises and scrapes she had from her fall when the ink bird dissolved did not make her feel any more charitably disposed towards her. "What did you put on Naruto?" she asked, her voice harsh.

Yukika glanced up at her, then back down the valley. "A chakra suppressor," she said. "Yukigakure developed them at Dotou's request. The prototype was produced three years ago."

"Three years ago – then you mean they were around when we were last here? Why didn't they use them?"

Sasuke frowned thoughtfully. "Didn't Naruto have something weird on him when we busted him out of Dotou's fortress?"

Sakura looked at him. "Maybe. I can't remember."

"I heard the prototype was destroyed during the fight between Dotou and Koyuki-hime's ninja – I mean you," Yukika said. "He could have been wearing it."

"But he could use his chakra just fine," Sakura said. "I saw him – he hit Dotou with a rasengan."

Yukika raised one shoulder in a half shrug. "That makes sense," she said. "The original supposedly broke because of chakra overload."

Sakura did not have much to say to this, and she went back to looking anxiously across the valley, hoping against hope that they would see Naruto and Sai and Itachi returning. There was nothing moving in the sky. The massed clouds pressed lower, making a solid roof of grey above their heads. The silent flakes drifted slowly down, feathers of white that settled on hair and clothes, bitterly cold when they touched bare skin and melted.

Shisui broke the quiet. "What about the one on Naruto? Will it break from a chakra overload?"

Yukika hesitated. "No," she said finally. "It shouldn't."

Sakura felt a hot anger rising in her belly. "Why not?"

Before Yukika could reply, Shisui cut in. "How does it come off?"

"It – doesn't," said Yukika. "That is," she added hurriedly, "I don't know how to remove it, but the Yukigakure engineering corps does."

Sasuke frowned. "So you want us to go to Yukigakure, where we will be outnumbered and surrounded by ninja working for Akatsuki."

Sakura glanced at him, her eyes widening as she realised the magnitude of their predicament. Cut off from Konoha by the sea, in the far north at the onset of winter, the local ninja hostile to them, their own small party already split up – the more she thought about it, the worse their odds looked.

"The village is loyal to the daimyo," said Yukika stiffly.

"Yes, we noticed that the last time we were here," said Sakura.

Yukika's eyes flashed, but she said nothing, and silence descended once more. The small group of ninja looked across the mountain slopes, beyond the smoking castle to the burning forest further down the valley. Shisui kept blinking and pressing his fingers into the corners of his eyes. Presently, he spoke again.

"Still no sign?"

"None at all," said Sasuke grimly. His face was tense, strained. Sakura reached for his hand to give it a reassuring squeeze, but he pulled away.

Rebuffed, Sakura let her hand fall to her side. I should know better by now, she thought. He hates to lose face, hates to be anything but calm and in control of the situation. That's his father's doing – if he didn't push Sasuke-kun so hard – but he has to keep up with Itachi-san –

She turned away and looked at the mountains rising behind them, pine and fir mantling their steep shoulders. In places the slopes were bare of trees, and there the naked rock was dusted with snow, long white fingers reaching into the gullies and crevices. The heads of the mountains were lost in the heavy grey clouds. It was a beautiful but grim landscape, drawn in monochrome. Just looking at it made Sakura shiver. Somehow, they would have to make their way back across the mountains and down to the coast, and commandeer a ship, all the while evading Akatsuki.

She glanced back at Yukika, still leaning quietly against Shisui's boulder. What were they going to do with the woman? She could not be trusted at all; what was there to stop her from betraying them a third time? What were they going to do with her? If they let her go, she'd just head back to the castle and tell Deidara or maybe even Uchiha Madara that they were fleeing for the coast. Keep her with them? No, she was too dangerous, too much of a liability. And what would they do with Koyuki, if – no, _when_, she corrected herself fiercely – when Itachi and Sai and Naruto returned?

The snow was falling more heavily, a moving veil of white that minute by minute grew denser and denser. The clouds seemed much lower. The light was dimmer, slowly fading towards an early winter dusk.

"We should find shelter," Sakura said uneasily. "We can't stay here in the snow."

Sasuke frowned, but Shisui sighed and slid from his seat on the big slab of rock. "Is there any cover beside the trees?" he asked, blinking up at Sakura.

"I don't know," she said. "It gets very rocky higher up – we might find a cave or something there."

Sasuke shook his head, and then checked quite suddenly. "Wait!" he said, staring intently across the valley, one hand shielding his eyes from the falling snow. Shisui was beside him in a heartbeat.

"What is it?" he asked. "Do you see them?"

Sasuke did not reply for a moment, gazing through the snow, his sharingan bright. "Yes," he said. "There are two, no, three birds – crows – and they're heading up the valley towards us." He pursed his lips and gave a trilling whistle that rose first to a shrill pitch before falling again.

Squinting through the snow, Sakura could just make out the dark shapes of the birds beating up the valley, and as Sasuke whistled again and again, they changed course and made straight for the group of shinobi at the head of the scree. Before long, she could see them clearly, and see their riders as well.

At the sight of Naruto's bright orange jacket, her heart leaped and she felt a tingling rush of heat course through her veins. He was there, he was all right, and so was Sai, and Koyuki, and –

She paused, glanced sideways at Sasuke. His mouth was set in a thin straight line, but as the crows landed, he was already moving forward to Naruto's side.

"I don't need any help," Naruto protested, waving Sasuke away feebly. "I'm fine. It's Sai who's in trouble."

The other boy was sitting hunched over, cradling his right hand. His lips were blue and he was breathing rapidly. A quick pulse drummed in the side of his neck. As Sakura hurried over to him, she smelled the unmistakable scent of burnt flesh, and her gorge rose.

"What happened?" she asked as he slid from the crow's back. Her palms were clammy, prickling, and there was a fluttering, choking sensation high in her chest, as though she had swallowed a moth and it was now trying to escape.

"We were hit by a bomb," Sai said quietly. "It burned my arm and my scrolls."

He swayed, and she caught him, slipping his left arm over her shoulders. Her eyes darted down to his other hand, and she knew it was every bit as bad as she had feared. His lower arm and part of his hand were blotched with white and cherry red, the raw flesh stiff and dry. The remains of his glove were stuck to the wound.

She averted her eyes quickly. This was not the sort of burn that she had ever wanted to treat in the field without support, and certainly not on the side of a mountain in a snowstorm. Sai was already cold to the touch; she could hear his teeth chattering. If they did not get him somewhere warm soon, he would die from shock and hypothermia.

If I don't kill him first, she thought. Again, the memory of that Mist kunoichi clutching at her chest slid before her mind's eye, again she saw the blood pooling under the girl's head and the stains on her own hands.

No, she thought. Stop it! You are going to pull yourself together – you _have_ to treat Sai and you _have_ to use the shōsen jutsu, because even if it is difficult and even though you've messed it up with that girl it's the only thing that will heal a burn like this. If you're going to be a spineless coward, his hand will rot and become gangrenous and then he _will_ die.

"We have to get Sai to shelter," she said firmly, forcing down her panic. "I need to look at his hand as soon as possible."

"Easier said than done, Sakura-chan," said Shisui. "If you look all around, you will see lots of rocks and lots of trees and lots of snow, but not lots of houses. In fact, there's not a single house to be seen."

"Well, you'd better find somewhere," she said. Sai was shaking with cold, violent spasms passing through his body and making his teeth clatter. His lashes were fringed with snow, and his hair looked prematurely grizzled.

The three crows fluffed up their feathers and huddled down, clearly not enjoying the weather. Sasuke stood amongst them, talking quietly to them. Naruto leaned on his shoulder, his legs clearly wobbly still from the effect of the chakra suppressor. There was dried blood on his lip and nose, and ash on his clothes, but he seemed unharmed – no burns, no bruises, no cuts that Sakura could see.

"I know of a place we can go," said Koyuki suddenly, and the ninja turned to look at her. "It should be safe – Akatsuki won't expect us to head there – and it's not far off."

"What is it?" Shisui asked.

"Saruyama, our only hot springs resort," Koyuki told him.

"You have hot springs here?" Naruto asked, a strange expression on his face, and Sakura guessed that he was thinking of Jiraiya. She had always wondered just how much time the two of them had spent at resorts during their travels, and just what they had got up to, though she had her suspicions, given the fact that Naruto had come back with a new perverted ninjutsu. He always insisted he'd been forced to develop it to get Jiraiya to train him, but she did not believe him. He'd needed no help coming up with the oiroke no jutsu after all.

"We have many hot springs here," Yukika said. "Most of them are in the valleys at the feet of the inland mountains, but Saruyama can be reached by the road from Rebun even in the winter, which is why the _onsen _was built there."

"It can, can it?" said Shisui. "How long does it take to travel there?"

"By snowbus, five or six hours."

Sakura watched Shisui anxiously. If Saruyama were that easily reached, they might wake in the night to find Akatsuki there.

Yukika must have guessed the reason for their hesitation, for she went on, "In a blizzard like the one that's coming now, the journey is much longer. No snowbus would try to set out in this weather anyway. We'll be safe there until the morning."

"To the hot springs it is, then," said Shisui. "We can ride the crows – it'll be quicker that way." He put his hand on the beak of one of the birds and patted it lightly. The crow roused itself and shook its feathers, all bedraggled by the falling snow, then settled down again, head cocked to one side as it watched the proceedings. "There are three crows, and seven of us, which means one crow will have to carry three, unless – Sasuke, do you have enough chakra for one of your hawks?"

"What about Itachi?" Sasuke countered. "We can't just abandon him. Or is this going to be another Yamato moment?"

Shisui stopped, his eyes narrowing as he looked at his younger cousin. Sasuke stared back, his chin jutting stubbornly, his brows drawn together.

"I am your team captain," Shisui said coldly. "Don't question my decisions. We are all heading to the hot springs together, Sasuke, and then, when we have a base and all know how to reach it, we will send out a search party for Itachi." He matched Sasuke's gaze, hard dark eyes staring into hard dark eyes, until the boy looked down, still glowering. "Now, Sasuke, we'll need one of your hawks for you and Naruto. Sai, Sakura, you will share one of the crows, Koyuki-san and Yukika can ride together, and I'll take the last bird."

He offered Koyuki a leg up onto the back of her crow, noticing that she had only white cotton _tabi_ on her feet, no shoes. It was a good thing, then, that they were flying – crossing the mountains in socks in the snow would be too much for Koyuki. Once she was sitting on the bird's back, he turned to Yukika and unfastened the ropes binding her hands together. "Double-cross us again," he said quietly, and drew a finger across his throat.

She nodded. "I won't," she said, chafing her wrists. "This time I mean it."

He raised his eyebrows. "I doubt it. You're a ninja. We're all trained to lie." He stepped aside, and watched as she sprang onto the crow's back, the skirts of her dress settling around her in a pool of lavender silk as she knelt beside Koyuki.

Crouching next to Sai on their crow, Sakura was glad to be on the way again. Rummaging through her pack, she had found her blanket and thrown it over Sai's shoulders to try to keep him warm, but he was still shivering violently, his teeth rattling in his head. The pulse in the side of his neck beat a rapid tattoo, and his breath was shallow and quick. He kept his right arm close to his chest.

Just a week earlier she supposed she might have started healing him before reaching shelter, but now, stiff and clumsy with cold, she did not know that she trusted herself to have the chakra control and concentration needed. Instead, as the crow jumped into the air, its wings beating ponderously as it struggled to gain height, she did her best to keep him warm while she recalled everything she knew about treating severe burns.

First the dead charred skin would have to be removed, and then she would need to generate fresh skin to cover the wound. She had done this for Naruto once before, when he had released four of the Kyuubi's tails and attacked Orochimaru at the Tenchi Bridge – she could do it again here, even if it did mean using the shōsen jutsu once more. The other method of cellular regeneration needed at least half a dozen medics, so that they could trade places when they tired; because it was so exhausting it was usually reserved for truly serious wounds – holes in the chest, ruptured internal organs. And it involved a massive sealing array, which she doubted she would be allowed to draw on the floor of the resort. No, she was stuck with the shōsen jutsu. She had to be able to use the technique again – Itachi might be badly wounded and in need of help when he returned. _If_ he returned. What had happened out there that Itachi had not come back?

She glanced over Sai's bowed head at Sasuke and his hawk, her eyes half shut against the driving snow. His face had its closed, angry look, his mouth turned down at the corners.

Koyuki called out, pointing ahead. There was a cleft in the mountains, a steep-shouldered valley dropping down between precipitous slopes. Trees clung to the cliffs through some magic of their own. It looked dark and forbidding, and Sakura wondered if this really were an _onsen_, or if Koyuki were leading them into a trap. Then, as the crows dropped lower into the valley, she saw the lights winking amongst the conifers, and the gabled roofs of the inn.

"Almost there now," she told Sai.

The boy nodded, drawing the blanket tighter round his shoulders. His cheeks were pale as wax, and he looked somehow shrunken as he huddled, shivering, on the crow's back. The sooner they reached shelter and warmth the better, Sakura thought anxiously.

Down the birds stooped, circling round the building, and Sakura glimpsed a rocky pool with coils of steam rising from the surface of the water, and half a dozen pale-haired people sitting submerged to their necks in the pool. Their faces were scarlet. They must be really tough to bathe outside in weather like this, she thought, though perhaps they're used to it. And then with a start she realised they were not people, but monkeys. Monkeys in the hot springs! She glanced backwards, her hair whipping across her eyes, but the springs were out of sight behind the inn.

The wind was blowing straight down the valley into her face now, and as the crow she rode spread its wings and reached forward with its feet, she realised that they must be coming in to land. Before her, she could just make out Koyuki and Shisui's birds, dark shapes settling on the ground. There was a jolt as her own crow's feet touched down, and then her stomach lurched as they found themselves airborne again for a great hop – once, twice, and then the crow folded its wings back and glanced over its shoulder, fixing her with its bright black eye.

She patted it a little awkwardly, and then tugged Sai's good arm over her shoulders, and helped him down, her body stiff with cold. Sai was like ice to the touch. The crow waited patiently for them to get off, fluffing up its feathers as some protection against the pouring snow. Once they were safely on the ground, it shook itself and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Everyone here?" Shisui asked, looming out of the snow. Yukika and Koyuki were behind him. "Sakura, Sai, good. Where's Sasuke?" There was a half-heard swishing sound from above, and he glanced up. Sakura followed his gaze.

A dark shape in the failing light, Sasuke's hawk was circling the building, its wings beating heavily. "We're going to find Itachi," Sasuke called down.

"Naruto, you too?" Sakura asked.

"Someone needs to keep Sasuke in line." Naruto grinned at her.

"But Akatsuki –"

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. We'll be back soon." He struck Lee's Nice Guy pose, giving her a thumbs up and one of his bright beaming smiles.

Sakura looked quickly at Shisui, hoping that he would forbid Naruto from going. Facing Akatsuki when he could not even use his chakra –

"Find him and get him back here," Shisui said. "Before nightfall, if you can."

Sasuke nodded, and the hawk wheeled and flew down the valley, climbing higher and higher into the snow-filled air. Sakura swung back to Shisui.

"Naruto's got the chakra suppressor on him!" she exclaimed. "Why did you let him go?"

Shisui looked at her gravely, but there was a twinkle in his eye. "We are at an _onsen_ and he has learned from the best voyeur around. You wouldn't want him peeping whilst you're in the bath, would you?"

"No, but –"

"Then that's settled," he said, adding in a virtuous voice, "I have your modesty at heart, Sakura-chan."

Sakura felt the beginnings of a blush rising in her cheeks, but Sai was slumped heavily on her neck, and she focused her attention on him instead. "We've got to get him indoors," she said.

Koyuki nodded, rubbing her arms for warmth. She was dressed for indoors, in a simple silk kimono over a _nagajuban_ and a kimono slip, which had been warm enough until the snow grew heavier. The white cotton _tabi_ on her feet, though, had been replaced with Yukika's boots at some point during the flight to the hot springs valley. "It's this way," she said, shivering, and led off.

With Sai leaning on her, Sakura followed Koyuki and Yukika up the path that led to the _ryokan_ buildings. As they passed through the gate, where two stone guardian statues crouched on either side, she could see the lights of the inn itself glowing through the latticed windows, warm and yellow and inviting. What she would give to be in out of the cold!

"Just think, Sai, a hot meal and a proper bed tonight," she said.

"We had that last night," Sai pointed out, teeth chattering.

"Well," she said, conceding that he was quite right, and then rallied, "It's been such a long, cold day – explosions, blizzards, mountain crossings – that we could probably do with it again tonight."

"Don't count on it," said Shisui from behind her. "Yukika may still have several tricks up her long lavender sleeves."

Sakura looked at the woman shadowing Koyuki, her stockinged feet glowing with chakra under the hem of her dress. "True," she said. "Do you want me to drug her?"

"Possibly."

They said nothing more, as Koyuki had come to the doors of the inn. The building was double storey, with steep tiled roofs that allowed the snow to slide off rather than build up. Cheerful light shone through the windows, and Sakura felt her whole body yearning to be inside, in the warmth and the light, out of the deepening dusk and the steadily falling snow. Sai straightened up a little as they approached, his eyes brightening and sharpening as he took in the colours and shapes of the scene before him: the blue twilight, the white snow and black pines behind the building, the glowing windows, and caught in the light spilling through the screens Koyuki standing before the big double doors of cedar wood, her plum coloured kimono gleaming like flame.

"It makes a good picture, doesn't it?" Sakura said quietly, and Sai nodded, intent on memorising every last detail.

"I'm going to paint it," he said, "when my hand is healed."

Sakura's eyes went to his hand automatically, burned red and white, and for the first time she realised that it was his drawing hand, the hand he needed for his art and his jutsu. You have to fix it, she told herself. If he can't draw and paint – for him, it would be like – like you were as a genin, weak and useless and knowing it.

After a glance round to make sure the rest of them were there, Koyuki rapped at the _ryokan_ door. "Hello?" she called.

There was the sound of a chair clattering back, and then quick footsteps thudding across the floor and down a step. A moment later, they heard the deeply welcome _clunk_ of a bolt being drawn back, and the doors opened. A woman peered out into the snow. Her lips were rouged, and her hair was drawn up into a bun on the top of her head.

"Welcome, welcome," she said, stepping to one side to let them in. "Come inside. You look frozen out there." Her eyes widened suddenly as she looked again at Koyuki, and she dropped to her knees. "_Hime_!"

Koyuki smiled. "I would have sent ahead to inform you," she said, "but I decided to come on the spur of the moment, and do not want anyone to know that I am here. There is no need for the formalities at the present."

Sakura gave a happy sigh as she helped her teammate across the threshold, into the small entrance hall, a step below the main floor of the _ryokan_. The warmth of the inn enveloped her, a delicious heat enfolding her and stealing through her limbs, and she could feel herself beginning to thaw. As she removed her boots and knelt to help Sai with his, she listened to Shisui and Koyuki talking to the woman and arranging rooms for the night.

"There are three more of us arriving," said Shisui. "We're not sure what time they'll be here – they may be delayed until after nightfall."

"Three? We will keep a watch out for them," the woman promised. "Let me show you to your rooms now." She hesitated a moment, her expression anxious. "I apologise that they are not prepared for you."

Koyuki smiled. "As long as there are futons, we will be comfortable."

The rooms were comfortable, large and well lit, with big, double-glazed windows overlooking the garden. The floors were matted, and a low table and _zaisu_ chairs stood in the middle of each room. In the women's room, the alcove held a vase with an arrangement of pine and winterberry, and a scroll of beautiful calligraphy.

As their hostess bowed out of the room, promising to return quickly with the makings for tea, Sakura shrugged her satchel off and rolled her shoulders back and forth to work out the aches. There was a tight, tense feeling in her belly, but she knew that she must work on Sai's hand sooner rather than later. She could not allow herself to feel fearful or inadequate now.

Kneeling on the _tatami_ matting, she unzipped her satchel and went through it quietly and methodically, retrieving the things she would need to heal Sai. The bottle of iodine, still three-quarters full, a roll of bandages, strips of gauze, Hinata's special healing ointment, a mild sedative – Water, she would need hot water. Their hostess was bringing hot water for tea; she could ask for more for Sai.

For a moment longer, she sat on her heels, playing with the little green doll dangling innocently from her satchel, then drew a deep breath, got up and went next door. Sai and Shisui looked up as she came in.

"Lonely already, Sakura-chan?" Shisui asked.

"No. I'm here for Sai." Sakura turned to her teammate. "I'm going to work on your hand. My things are next door. All I need is some hot water and then we can begin."

The boy nodded, and rose to his feet.

"Leaving so soon?" Shisui gave her a desolate look. "What'll I have to do without anyone to keep me company?"

"I'm sure you'll find something to occupy your time," Sakura said briskly. "Like reflecting on why you sent Naruto to face Akatsuki with his chakra suppressed by something he can't even get off."

Shisui shrugged. "I'd rather have him on the move with Sasuke than staying put with Yukika."

"But Sasuke-kun just overused the curse seal. Neither of them is in any fit state to fight!"

"They don't need to be if they make contact with Itachi-sempai," Sai pointed out. "He had already taken the dragon down by the time he sent us away. By now he should have finished Deidara off."

Sakura bit her lip. "All right," she said. "You're probably right. I just –" She hesitated.

"Don't worry too much about them, Sakura-chan," said Shisui. "To be honest, I'm more worried about us, locked in here with Yukika. Watch her tonight, Sakura. If she does anything, and I mean _anything_, remotely suspicious, take her down and call for me."

Sakura nodded. "I understand. Come on, Sai. Let's get your hand healed."

Next door, Koyuki and Yukika, wearing clean _yukata_, were seated at the table, and a girl in a blue kimono knelt beside them, setting out the teapot and cups. Sakura and Sai joined them, sinking into the low, cushioned chairs. Next to Koyuki in her fresh new _yukata_, Sakura realised just how grubby and grimy she must be, her clothes stained with ink and blood and torn from her slide on the gravelly mountain slopes, and she thought longingly of a hot bath and clean clothes.

As the girl poured the tea, Koyuki leaned towards Sai. "How is your hand?" she asked.

Sai smiled politely. "It will be fine soon. Sakura is an excellent med-nin."

"You have a lot of supplies already laid out," Koyuki said to Sakura. "Is there anything more you need?"

Sakura nodded. "Just hot, sterile water. His hand needs to be bathed."

Koyuki turned to the girl. "Could you fetch some more water, please, boiling hot, in a basin, for this man's hand."

"At once, _hime_." The girl backed to the door, bowed, and then slid the door shut.

Sakura handed Sai the sedative pill. "You'll be wanting this," she said. "Treating that burn is going to hurt."

"All your treatments hurt, Ugly," he said, and swallowed the pill, washing it down with the tea.

Koyuki looked amused. "So you've become a med-nin, Sakura," she said. "What about Sasuke and Naruto? What have they been up to these last three years?"

Sakura sipped at her tea, wondering how much Yukika knew about them already. It was probably safest to stick to generalities. "Sasuke-kun spent a lot of time training with his family and Kakashi-sensei, working on his sharingan," she said. "As for Naruto, he left the village for two and a half years and trained with Jiraiya of the Sannin. Both of them got very strong."

She paused, took another sip of tea. "Sai here is another member of our team – he first filled in for Sasuke-kun on a mission about a year ago, and has been with us on almost every S-class mission we've taken since. He's a member of ANBU, like Shisui-san and Itachi-san."

Koyuki smiled. "I'm very lucky to have three ANBU in the place of Kakashi-san, though I'm sorry he can't be here himself," she said.

"He was really disappointed that he couldn't come," Sakura told her. "Since you starred in the film adaptation of _Icha Icha Paradise_ he was really, really disappointed."

Koyuki laughed. "He's a fan?"

"A very big fan," said Sakura.

Sai was giving Koyuki a quizzical look. "I thought those were porn books," he said. "What do you do for the s– ow!"

"You _don't_ ask questions like that!" Sakura hissed, unclenching her fist. She turned back to Koyuki with a nervous smile. "I'm sorry, Koyuki-san," she began, but her apology died on her lips as she realised the woman was laughing.

"No, no," Koyuki said. "Ask away."

Sai glanced warily at Sakura, who looked at Yukika, who just shrugged. "I meant to ask whether being a daimyo conflicts with starring in a film based on a porn book," he said carefully.

Koyuki wore a mischievous grin. Her eyes were shining. "So you're asking about the sex scenes."

Sai gave Sakura another cautious look. "Yes."

"It's all just acting," she said. "It's none of it real."

Sakura nodded, remembering how easily Koyuki went from sullen and apathetic off-camera to impassioned and emotional during the filming of her scenes for the last Princess Fuun movie, and how abruptly she had reverted the moment the cameras stopped rolling.

"Besides, I have a no nudity clause in my contract. Sandayuu wrote it in years ago, when he first became my manager, and I've kept it ever since."

There was a tap at the door, and the girl's voice. "Your water, _hime_." The door slid open, and the girl came in, carrying a steaming basin of water and a towel.

Sakura rose from the table, doing her best to ignore the twisting in her stomach. "Put it there, please," she said, pointing to the medical supplies she had already laid out. Her hands were trembling, and she let them fall back to her side as she and Sai seated themselves on the matting beside her satchel. She couldn't mess this one up – Sai wasn't about to die from anything she was going to do to him here and now. She ran her eyes over her neatly arranged equipment and mentally listed everything one last time – iodine, bandages, gauze, ointment, hot water, towel. Good.

"All right, Sai," she said as she scraped her hair up and back into a ponytail. "I'm going to take your glove off first and see what your hand is like."

It was a delicate business, peeling the tattered and charred remains of the glove from his burned skin, and several times Sai caught his breath with a little hitch. Once it was off, Sakura could see that his hand was a mess, red and raw and blistering and wet where the glove had been, dry and seared where the clothes had burned right away.

"It's better than it looks," she told Sai as she flicked through a set of hand seals. He looked unconvinced, but held still as she let her chakra flow over and through his hand and lower arm, feeling the extent of the damage. Charred skin, the network of capillaries damaged and weeping in places, in others burned dry – the nerve endings deadened, the finger bones intact and unharmed, this extensor ligament not right – going deeper now – the carpal and intercarpal ligaments fine, the muscles unscathed – She could feel the beating of blood in his hand, feel each and every tendon and ligament and vein and bone as her awareness both diffused and sharpened. She was in his hand, almost was his hand, while her chakra ran through and through his damaged and burned flesh.

At length, she let her hands fall away from his. "Right," she said. "It looks bad on the surface but it's all right inside. You'll heal perfectly, but first there's a lot of dead tissue which I have to remove." She looked at the basin of water. It was no longer steaming, and when she touched it with her fingertips, it was mildly warm to the touch.

"We'll start by soaking your burn in the basin to get everything soft," she went on, meeting Sai's eyes. "Then, when it's ready to slough off, I'll remove the dead skin."

He nodded, and submerged his hand and lower arm in the water. "And now we wait," he said.

"Time for talking then," came Shisui's voice, and Sakura glanced up to see him lounging at the table with a cup of tea in one hand. He must have come in while she was engrossed in examining Sai's wound. "I want to know more about that chakra suppressor you put on Naruto, Yukika."

All eyes turned to Yukika. She was stiff, her face tense.

"Why did you do it?" Koyuki asked.

"I wanted to save you, _hime_." Yukika cast her eyes down, looking at the wooden surface of the table. "He was going to blow you up – I thought that if I gave him the jinchuuriki –" Her voice faltered.

"I'm afraid you thought wrong," said Shisui cheerfully. "That man's a madman. He likes to blow things up." He took a sip of tea. "So, how long have you been working for Akatsuki?"

Yukika glanced up quickly, her gaze darting from Shisui to Koyuki. "I don't work for them," she said. "I serve my princess."

"But you tried to betray us to Akatsuki twice over," said Sakura fiercely. "You put that chakra suppressor on Naruto and shoved him towards Deidara. You wanted Akatsuki to take him. If that isn't working for them, then I don't know what is."

"I swear I work only for Koyuki-hime." Yukika spoke in a low, pleading voice. "I wanted her safe, and she was a hostage. When Akatsuki first came – when _he_ first came, the masked man, he said that if I delivered the jinchuuriki to him, the princess would be safe. Otherwise, he threatened to kill you, _hime_. I was only trying to keep you safe. My mission is to protect you! Yukigakure expects me to keep you safe. We are your loyal ninja now. We won't let any harm come to you!"

Koyuki sighed. "Naruto helped me become daimyo," she said. "He changed me, he gave me back my happiness. I would risk my life rather than see Naruto handed over to Akatsuki. Your mission may be to protect me, Yukika, but not at all costs. I won't have it."

"Yes, Koyuki-hime." Yukika looked down again, her eyes wet.

Sakura wondered whether she were truly upset, or whether the tears were just another attempt to catch them off guard. Protect an actress, learn to be an actress, she thought.

"Now that we've had your pledge of undying loyalty," Shisui drawled, "how about telling us some more about that suppressor? How does it work? Does it actually suppress chakra, or does it draw it out instead?"

Yukika looked first at Koyuki, who nodded, and then turned to Shisui. "It draws out chakra as it is moulded. It attaches to the body with cables that puncture the skin and tap into the keirakukei."

"What does it do with the chakra it draws out? Does it just dissipate?"

Yukika shook her head. "It stores it."

"So, how much chakra can it absorb and store?"

"The full capacity of your average chuunin. Anything more, though, and it has to flare the excess off, otherwise it will break."

Sakura exchanged a glance with Sai. That was a significant amount of chakra to absorb – no wonder Naruto had passed out when it was first slapped onto him.

"How does it flare off?" Sai asked.

"I've been told it emits a strong pulse of chakra every couple of hours." Yukika hesitated for a moment, then went on. "The idea is that if a prisoner wearing a suppressor escapes, the regular flaring off of the excess chakra will make it easy to track them."

There was an instant of silence whilst her words sank in, and then Sakura ground her hands into fists, and said, "You mean to say that every few hours Naruto is sending off a great big signal that lets Akatsuki track his location." A wave of heat poured up and down her body, pounding in her veins, and her vision blurred.

Yukika nodded.

"Good thing he's on the move at the moment," said Shisui. "Especially since you've already told us it can't be undone by anyone except your engineering corps." He set his tea down. "My God," he said. "You really have made this difficult."

Sakura closed her eyes and breathed out through her nose, a long, slow breath. A fine quivering had seized her body, and intense anger burned in her. She had never thought she would hate someone as much as she did Orochimaru, but right now Yukika was running a close second.

Opening her eyes, she turned back to Sai. "How's your hand?" she asked, forcing all thoughts of Yukika to the back of her mind.

He lifted it dripping water from the basin. "It doesn't hurt like I thought it would," he said. "The blistered bit is painful, but the rest of it – I don't feel much."

"That's good," said Sakura. "The painkiller must be helping."

"Now what?" Sai asked.

Sakura reached for a square of gauze. "I need to debride the dead skin – it makes it easier for me to heal the bits that need it." Grasping his injured arm, she looked up at Sai. "Tell me if this hurts at all."

Gently and carefully, she began to rub the gauze over the burn, the damaged skin sloughing away. Where it had merely blistered and wept, it peeled off beautifully, but where it had become white and leathery, Sakura had to work at it harder, and when it did lift, it came away bloody. Time and again, Sakura had to pause and staunch the wounds, disinfecting the bleeding holes in Sai's skin and covering them up with a light dressing. Throughout it all, Sai sat quietly, never flinching, only occasionally catching his breath when Sakura lifted away a particularly large strip of burned skin.

For Sakura, there was something comforting about the mechanical process of scrubbing away the top layers of the burn. She was healing again, a med-nin doing her job, cleaning a wound as she had cleaned a hundred, a thousand other wounds before it, and as she worked, her fears slid away and her training took their place. Sloughing skin, picking at the leathery white burn, dropping iodine into the wound, placing a pad of gauze over it, pressing down to hold it in place – it was familiar, routine.

She could hear the rise and fall of voices in the room. Shisui and Koyuki were talking about something, and snatches of their conversation danced through her head, phrases of sound with no meaning out of context.

At last, she sat back, rubbing her arm across her forehead. "I think that's the worst of it," she said. "Now the actual healing can begin."

Sai looked down at his hand. "How long will it take?"

"I'm not sure." Sakura pushed a strand of hair that had come loose back behind her ear. "This part involves cellular regeneration, which can take a team of med-nin quite a long time. Since it's just me here and the burn doesn't go too deep, I'm going to use a different technique."

"You mean I'm going to be an experiment."

"Not really," Sakura said, making the shōsen jutsu hand seals. "I'm using the same jutsu I use for most healing in the field. And it's helped regrow skin before, though that was Naruto, so the technique was helped along by the Kyuubi."

"And if I don't want to be an experiment?"

"You'll have to heal by yourself. Which will take a very long time."

"Shisui-sempai is right. You are a sadist, Ugly."

Sakura gave Sai her sweetest smile, placing her glowing hands above his burned arm. "It makes me a good med-nin. Now, shut up and let me concentrate."

As the chakra flowed into Sai's arm, Sakura focused her mind on the wound. She would start by getting the deepest bits of damaged tissue to repair itself, then work her way slowly up, stimulating all the cells to begin their various tasks in the healing process, encouraging the bone marrow to produce white blood cells, start the process of regenerating skin. The trick lay in judging the exact amount of chakra necessary for the sort of accelerated regeneration she hoped to achieve.

Slowly, carefully, she increased the amount of chakra she was using, stopping after each gradual increase to judge the effect on the burn. The areas that had been blistered and weeping looked much better now, but his arm and the parts of his hand that had suffered the deep burns were still red and bleeding in places. Little by little she fed more chakra into Sai's arm, until at last, her hands tingling and aching from the load of chakra she had been pushing through them, she saw the skin beginning to reform, spreading from the unburned parts of his arm across the raw red mess of the burn.

She kept up the jutsu just a little longer, her arms trembling, her chakra network throbbing dully, and then she had to admit defeat, and let her hands fall into her lap. "How does your arm feel?" she asked Sai. Despite her weariness, there was a sweet feeling of exhilaration. She had done it – she had healed Sai with jutsu, and had not messed up.

"Painful," he said. "But it looks much better. Thank you, Sakura."

"Best to put a bandage on it for the night," she said, reaching for the jar of ointment. "I'll work on it again tomorrow."

Once Sai's arm was bandaged, the two young shinobi rejoined the adults at the table, and discovered that they were telling ghost stories. Shisui was telling one of his favourites, which Sakura had first heard when she was twelve, and had been so terrified that for a year or more afterwards she would not go near the Naka River.

"… and the grove of trees still stands, dark and brooding, on the banks of the river, except once a year, in springtime, when they flower and their petals are the colour of blood." Shisui leaned back in his chair and winked at Sakura.

"The vampire trees again?" she asked.

"It's a good one," he said.

There was a knock at the door, and their hostess put her head into the room. "Excuse me, _hime_, but we must lock the gates and the front door. Will the last three of your party be here soon?"

Sakura realised with a sudden jolt that she had forgotten about Itachi, Sasuke and Naruto, and she glanced around the room, as though half-expecting to see them sitting in a corner.

"I don't know," said Koyuki. "Shisui-san?"

Shisui shook his head. "I don't think they will be much longer, but in this weather, who knows? Can you keep the place open half an hour longer?"

Their hostess bowed her head. "It is customary to lock the gates and front door when night falls during a snowstorm – leaving an open door will only invite the snow girls in. But if the princess wishes it, we will leave the door open a little longer."

Koyuki nodded. "Thank you. I am sure they will be here soon."

The woman bowed again, and slid the door to. They could hear her rise to her feet and set off down the corridor. Only once her steps had faded did Sai ask the question on the three Konoha shinobi's lips. "What are the snow girls?"

Koyuki shook her head. "Just a superstition they have in these parts. Yukika knows more about it than I do."

The three shinobi turned to look at her. "It's like your vampire trees," she said with a shrug. "You have a story of trees that grow where there has been bloodshed. We have a story here of ghosts that haunt the snowstorms, ghosts of girls and women who die in the snow. Imagine you are outside right now. It's dark, but soon the moon will be up, and perhaps the snowstorm will be illumined. It's a strange light, a weird silver glow from high above, beautiful but eerie. It's the sort of light in which anything could happen, and in the light, you catch a glimpse of something moving, something as insubstantial as a cloud of freezing mist, blown towards you by the wind and the snow.

"Closer it comes, and closer, and now you can see it is a woman. You can see her face – long black hair blowing in the storm, dark eyes, and lips an icy blue. Perhaps you ask her what she is doing out here, but she makes no sound, drifting towards you. You look down and see she leaves no footprints, and then you know you have seen one of the snow girls, but by then it is too late. You are enveloped in freezing mist, and your blood is chilled, and you die in her cold embrace."

There was silence after she finished, broken only by the window rattling as the wind buffeted it. Sakura shivered at the sound. It was the sort of night where you could believe in ghostly girls appearing in the snow the sort of night where people caught outside would die. Naruto and Sasuke – where were they?

"At least it's an embrace," said Shisui. "Incidentally, she doesn't appear most often to pretty young men, does she?"

Yukika arched her brows. "Yes, she does," she said.

"Well, we'll have to ask Sasuke and Itachi what she was like when they get back." Shisui got up and walked to the window. The darkness outside was moving, full of shadows and snow, and there was a persistent low sobbing and whining of wind as the valley funnelled the storm straight down it. "What's keeping them?" he muttered.

Sakura looked at Sai, who was frowning, and then out the window. Shadows and terror, and Naruto with a chakra suppressor that signalled his location every few hours – If Naruto had been captured – if that was why the boys were not back yet –

"Naruto will be all right," said Koyuki suddenly, and Sakura turned to her. Her gaze was direct and very blue. "He never gives up. He'll get through the night safely, and Sasuke and Itachi-san too."

Sakura smiled wanly. "He never gives up," she repeated, and some of the strain in her face eased. Koyuki was right. The boys would be all right. She had faith in them.

An hour later, when the inn had locked its doors for the night, Sakura lay in the darkened room, listening against reason for the boys' voices in the corridor. Besides the deep, regular breathing of Koyuki and Yukika both, the only sounds were the wailing of the wind and the rattling of the windows as whirling gusts of snow beat against them. It made her glad for the warmth of her futon, and she snuggled deeper into the quilt.

Light began to filter into the room, pale silver light, and she realised that the clouds must be parting high up, and the moonlight coming through. From where she lay, she had a view of the window and could see the radiance within the snowstorm, an eerie glow. The sort of light in which anything could happen, Yukika had called it, the sort of light in which you might see a snow girl ghost. It was simple enough to see how the stories started: the strange light, the moving snow, the thick air. Those wind-tormented branches of the pine tree, those could be her long dark hair, and a face could easily be imagined in the space between the branches – two dark eyes made from pine twigs and a blue mouth made from – she was not sure what, in the fleeting swirling flakes, but there was the face, and it was coming closer now, drifting towards the window, dark eyes staring straight at her; she could see the woman's body, pale and insubstantial as mist, and now a hand lifted, reaching for the window, while Sakura lay frozen in her covers, unable to move, unable even to whimper, her throat tight and her voice choked into nothingness.

Suddenly, a gust of wind picked the snow girl up and hurled her at the window. There was the face, the wild whipping black hair, the mouth open in a snarling gape, and the window rattled in its frame as the wind and the snow lashed it, rattled as though it would burst inwards and let the ghost inside. Sakura bolted upright, reaching for a kunai, and as she did so, she found herself lying in the dark, staring at the ceiling, with Koyuki and Yukika sleeping peacefully beside her.

The window rattled again, and she glanced at it, but there was nothing there except the snow and the night that enfolded the mountains, and the wind that moaned like a little girl lost in the storm. She sank back in the futon wearily, and then suddenly stiffened. There really was a face at the window – someone or something looking in from outside.

* * *

><p><strong>Notes of a frivolous nature about clothes, monkeys and stuff<strong>

As it turns out, Koyuki is dressed almost entirely in Japanese in this chapter, so a glossary (of dubious value) follows. The kimono is simple enough, but the _nagajuban_ is a robe worn under the kimono - its function is to keep the kimono itself from coming into contact with the wearer's skin, so keeping it clean - and the kimono slip is a very thin undergarment worn under the _nagajuban_. Three layers may sound like overkill, but in the Heian period you might wear up to twenty layers. The colour of the kimono is also significant, with certain colours appropriate for certain seasons. Koyuki wears a plum coloured kimono, a colour created by layering either scarlet over plum-pink or maroon over maroon, and is associated with winter ... though I think it may be late winter, rather than early. Yukika's lavender dress is another kimono colour, achieved by dyeing or weaving scarlet and indigo. _Yukata_ are informal kimono, without an inner lining, and are provided for guests at inns. Finally, the _tabi_ on Koyuki's feet are traditional split-toed socks, worn with _geta_, the sandals you'll see Jiraiya wearing. For those interested in reading more about kimono colours and the like, I can recommend reading Sei Shōnagon's _The Pillow Book_, which was written by a court lady in the Heian period and provides a fascinating glimpse into the imperial household.

An _onsen_ is a hot springs resort (technically just the springs), and a _ryokan_ is a Japanese inn with traditional rooms and communal baths. The _zaisu_ chairs in Sakura's room are chairs with no legs, just a seat and a back, used in traditional Japanese rooms, along with low tables and woven rush _tatami_ matting. And in the snowy regions of Japan, such as Jigokudani Monkey Park, macaques do indeed sit in the hot springs to warm themselves up. (Thank Sir David Attenborough once again for this.) On the subject of animals, Sasuke's trilling whistle and the misery of the crows in the snow comes from a falconry display I was lucky enough to attend earlier this year - one of the birds flown was a Harris hawk, who got increasingly soggy and bad-tempered in the rain.

The vampire trees (_jubokko_) and the snow girls (_yuki-onna_) are both found in Japanese folklore. The Naka River mentioned by Sakura is the river where Shisui drowns in the manga.


	10. Yukika's Confession

Thanks once more to Just Subliminal for beta-ing this story and for pointing out the places which need more work. Go read her Second Bloom if you haven't already, and, if you're feeling particularly generous, leave a review to help her reach the thousand review mark!

Updates may be sporadic for this story for a little while yet, but I am still writing. Just very slowly. Very, very slowly.

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><p>Chapter Ten<p>

Yukika's Confession

Rolling out of the futon, Sakura snatched up a kunai, and came to her feet in a crouch, tense and ready to spring in any direction. Her heart thundered against her ribs, and electricity poured through her veins, hot and tingling. The face was close up against the glass of the window, a pale shape in the dark, and for a moment, she considered throwing the kunai straight at it.

Out of the corner of her eye, she glimpsed a movement inside the room, and her gaze darted towards it. It was Yukika, also on her feet, and pushing aside the folds of her _yukata_ as she reached for a holster strapped to her thigh. She met Sakura's eyes briefly, and then both kunoichi turned back to the window.

The face swivelled so that it was looking straight at Sakura, and at the same time the clouds broke up overhead, brilliant silver light shining full on an unmistakeable shock of fair hair. Quite abruptly, the pent-up tension in Sakura's body vanished, and she straightened. "Oh," she said. "It's Naruto."

Yukika sighed. "Let's get him inside."

No sooner had they slid the window open than Naruto vaulted through in a flurry of wind and snow. "It's freezing out there," he said. "I thought you'd never wake up, Sakura-chan!"

"You could have tried Sai's window instead. It's just one room down."

"Yeah, but _Shisui's_ there too," said Naruto with a shudder. "I'm not waking Shisui in the middle of the night. He'd do something horrible to me, you know he would."

Whilst this, Sakura reflected, was likely true, there was something rather more pressing on her mind. "Where's Sasuke-kun? And Itachi-san?"

"Outside," said Naruto, and swung back to the window. "Hey, Sasuke! Bring him up!"

_Bring him up?_ Sakura frowned. That meant Itachi must be injured, and pretty badly too. Itachi, injured! She felt cold, and not just from the draught sweeping the room.

Koyuki sat up, blinking sleepily. "What's going on?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. "Why is it snowing inside the room? Oh – Naruto!"

"Hey, _neechan_." Leaning halfway out the window, Naruto flashed a grin at her over his shoulder, before turning back to his teammate outside.

Sasuke clung to the wall of the building with one hand, Itachi slumped over his shoulder. The wind buffeted them, plucking at their clothes and whipping their hair across their faces. Overhead, the moon slid behind a tattered streamer of cloud, and the night fell dark once more.

"That's one hell of an exercise in chakra control," Naruto remarked.

"Just shut up and help me get him inside," Sasuke growled.

"All right, sunshine," said Naruto as he reached down and grabbed Sasuke by the wrist. "Gotcha. Now – one, two, three, _hup!_" Grunting with the effort, he hauled Sasuke and Itachi up the wall and onto the sill. There the boys paused for a moment, panting, whilst the snow blew around them, and then Sasuke bundled his brother across the ledge and into Naruto's arms.

"Sakura – you need to look at him," he said as he slipped inside. "He's –" His voice failed, and he gave her a pleading look.

Sakura hesitated, then pointed to her futon. "Naruto, put him down there." She headed over to her satchel and began to rummage through it for her basic first aid supplies. A gust of cold air that gave her gooseflesh inside her light cotton _yukata_ made her look up. "Close the window," she said sharply, and Yukika moved to do so.

As she turned back to her satchel, Sakura saw Sasuke hovering above his brother, his face strained. "Sasuke-kun, you'll find Shisui-san and Sai next door. Tell them what's happening."

Sasuke hesitated a moment, looking down at Itachi. Lying on Sakura's rumpled futon, his hair slipping out of its ponytail, he was so different from the tall, commanding Itachi who had flown off on the back of his crow hours before. He seemed shrunken somehow, smaller and vulnerable.

"Sasuke-kun?" Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder, shaking him out of his thoughts. "Sasuke-kun, he'll be all right. Please, wake Shisui-san. He'll want to know."

Sasuke looked at her, her eyes wide in the dark and full of gentle compassion, and he nodded and turned away. As he left the room, he paused, glanced back over his shoulder. Sakura was on her knees beside Itachi, her head on his chest, Naruto standing behind her, watching her.

Reluctantly, he stepped into the dim corridor, sliding the door to behind him, and looked around. It was quiet and empty, almost lightless, until bars of moonlight began filtering through a shoji screen at one end of the corridor. The wind banged and rattled at the window.

Suddenly, a blast of chakra exploded through the passageway, a surge strong enough to make the hair rise on the back of Sasuke's neck and set his body tingling. Heart racing, he spun on his heel, his sharingan glaring through the dark, but there was no-one there.

The next instant, a door banged open, and Sasuke swung towards the sound just in time to see a flicker of movement – a shunshin, he thought – and then there was a kunai pressed to his neck, cold against his skin, and a voice saying in his ear, "One move, and you're – oh, it's you."

"Sakura sent me to wake you," Sasuke said, stepping away from his cousin as Shisui lowered the kunai. "We've brought _nii-san_ back, but –"

Shisui looked grim. "I shouldn't have let him go off by himself. He overdid it, didn't he?"

Sasuke shrugged helplessly. "Sakura's looking at him right now. Anyway, we need to find out where that chakra blast came from."

"Naruto's with you, right?" It was Sai, standing in the open doorway. His right arm and hand were wrapped in bandages.

Sasuke nodded.

"Then that's who caused the blast," Sai said. "It's the chakra suppressor flaring off what it's extracted."

Sasuke stiffened, his gaze darting to Shisui. "What? He's giving off chakra in bursts? But that will lead Akatsuki straight to him!"

"I know," said Shisui. "Come on. I need to see if Itachi can be moved."

As Sasuke followed his cousin into the women's room, his eyes went straight to Itachi, lying on the futon. His brother's face was pale in the moonlight, and the lines beside his nose looked deeper, set. There were transparent shadows below his eyes. Sakura was wrapping a bandage around his forearm, but she looked up at their entrance. Her forehead was creased, and her mouth was tight.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Naruto bounded up to them, his agitation stark in every line of his body. "Did you just feel that chakra wave? Sakura-chan says it's this suppressor –"

"We know," said Sasuke shortly.

"We need to get this thing off! Sasuke, can't you chidori it? I can't make a rasengan – it sucks me dry – and Sakura-chan won't use her monster strength either. You're my last hope!" His voice rose, edged with panic.

Sasuke set his teeth. "Naruto –"

"Wait a minute, Naruto," Shisui said, and turned to Sakura. "How is he?"

Sakura got to her feet. "Shisui-san, Sasuke-kun," she said, pushing her hair back behind her ears. "We need to talk." She shot a hard look at Naruto when he started to speak again, and he backed away, taking Sai with him.

Sasuke and Shisui exchanged a glance. Sakura must have found out, Sasuke thought, frowning. _Nii-san_ can't keep it secret any longer.

"There is no time," Shisui said. "You felt that chakra flare. We have to get out of here before Akatsuki arrives."

"But –"

"No time for that either. Koyuki-san, Yukika, get ready to move. Sakura, do what you can for Itachi. Sai, we need to get dressed and retrieve our kit. Let's go."

As he turned to leave, Yukika stepped forward, her chin jutting pugnaciously. "Move? Where?" She gestured to the window, rattling in its frame with each buffet of wind. "It's still storming out there."

Shisui shrugged. "We need to keep moving from place to place. Sitting still, we're an easy target, especially for someone with space-time techniques."

"Yes, but _where_ do you intend we should go? Heading out into a blizzard – we'll all end up like him," she said, pointing at Itachi.

"And then Sakura-chan will heal us as well." Naruto's reply came back quick as the bounce of a ball. "Problem solved."

The corners of Shisui's mouth twitched up into a grin. "There's your answer," he said, stepping out into the corridor. "Come on, Sai."

Yukika clenched her fists, but Koyuki cut in before she could say anything. "They're right," she said sharply. Yukika looked startled, her eyes widening, her fingers uncurling. "We'll make it despite the blizzard. Get your things ready as well."

Yukika pressed her lips together until they whitened, but she dropped her head and went to the corner where she had left her clothes. Sasuke watched her as she unfolded her dress and went through her ninja tools. In addition to the kunai and shuriken, there were a handful of sharpened hair sticks, a vial of poison, a set of cat claws, a razor-bladed fan, and a mixture of small explosives – smoke bombs, light bombs, exploding notes. Typical kunoichi weapons, all easily concealed within clothing or disguised as something more innocent. He would like to know more about her ninjutsu and taijutsu – she had to be capable as the daimyo's bodyguard.

Naruto nudged him. "Hey, Sasuke," he hissed. "D'you think that I could break this thing by flooding it with Kyuubi chakra?"

"I have no idea."

"It worked last time."

"Maybe it'll work again – but if it doesn't, you'll just send off another big burst of chakra, and then Akatsuki really will find us." Sasuke's eyes darted restlessly around the room. They really needed to be moving – Madara could be here any instant – His skin crept, his belly twisting with anxiety.

The window rattled again, and Sasuke tensed, his sharingan activating on reflex, but there was nothing there. Just the wind and the dark, he thought, noting that Naruto too was uncharacteristically twitchy. He looked down at Itachi, Sakura kneeling over him, the soft green glow of her healing jutsu illuminating his brother's face from below. He could not be sure – perhaps he was hoping for too much – but by the blended moonlight and pale glowing jutsu it seemed as though some of the lines in Itachi's face had slackened, and he looked more at ease.

Shisui and Sai returned, warmly dressed, their packs slung on their backs. "How is he, Sakura-chan?" Shisui asked.

Her jutsu flickered and collapsed into nothingness, and she sat back on her heels. Sweat stood out on her temples and damp strands of hair clung to her brow. "He needs to be kept warm," she said. "Taking him outside –"

"We have no choice. Best get dressed, Sakura-chan. I'll bundle Itachi up – Sasuke, Sai, Naruto, sort out Sakura's things for her."

Sakura retrieved her dirty clothes from the floor and found the darkest spot in the room to dress, keeping the _yukata _on as she pulled on her leggings and fastened her bra. As she was about to shrug off the light kimono, someone tapped her on the shoulder, and she jumped and spun round, her fist raised and ready to strike.

"It's me," said Koyuki hastily, and Sakura let her hand fall.

"Yes, Koyuki-san?" she asked.

"How important is it that Itachi-san stay warm?"

Sakura hesitated, wondering for a moment if Yukika had somehow put her up to this, but when she looked at the other woman, Yukika was watching them with an expression of mixed curiosity and something else, something Sakura could not quite put her finger on. She turned back to Koyuki. The princess' eyes were wide, her gaze direct and earnest.

"He's in a bad way," she said carefully. "If he gets chilled again, he will probably die."

Koyuki's mouth set. "I thought so. Yukika, go ahead."

The kunoichi's head snapped up, but before she could move, Shisui was beside her and seized her by the arm.

"What is going on here?" he asked. His voice was sharp with suspicion.

"We are commandeering a snowbus," said Koyuki. "Itachi-san will not survive the blizzard otherwise. You can let Yukika go – she is acting on my orders."

Shisui looked at her a moment longer, then released Yukika. "You can drive a snowbus?"

"Of course." Yukika smoothed the skirt of her dress. "They're the best way for getting around in the winter."

"Sasuke, Sai, go with her." Shisui paused, and then turned slowly and deliberately back to Sakura. "Sakura-chan," he asked, grinning wickedly, "do you want help getting dressed?"

Blushing furiously, Sakura pulled on her top and fastened the buckles of her skirt, and ran across the room in her socks to take her pack from Naruto. The others were already in the corridor. They would have to sneak down to the entrance hall to retrieve their shoes, and then, somehow, take a snowbus and get away from here. She still could not quite believe that Akatsuki was not here already, but it had not been ten minutes since the suppressor had flared off Naruto's chakra, and even Akatsuki could not move that fast …

Her heart was thundering against her ribs as she and Naruto slipped out into the corridor and slid the door to behind them. It was dark, save for the strip of moonlight filtering through the paper _shoji_ screen at one end of the passage, and full of the wailing and banging of the wind, crying like human voices.

The snow girls, she thought, her skin rising and creeping. Quickly, she stamped the thought down and followed Naruto through the shadows. She glanced back once, at the head of the stairs, but the corridor was empty, utterly empty. The door of their room yawned like a black mouth.

Naruto's voice came hissing to her. "Quickly, Sakura-chan!"

She turned and flew down the stairs and across the reception room, her stockinged feet slipping and sliding on the polished wooden floors. One of the windows was open, letting in a cold draft. That must be where Sai and Sasuke and Yukika had gone out.

Moonlight streamed in squares across the room, silvering Naruto's hair, glistening on Koyuki's kimono. They looked so bright, so visible, and so must she, Sakura realised. They made such easy targets. Her skin was prickling, and she glanced around, but there was nobody there. All asleep, she told herself.

Their shoes were lined up in a neat row in the entrance hall, with gaps where Sasuke's, Sai's and Yukika's had been. "We need to find you something, Koyuki-san," Shisui said, rummaging through the other guests' shoes. "You can't go out in the snow in just your socks. What size are your feet?"

Sakura dropped down on the step down to the entrance hall to tug her boots on, bracing her heel against the floor for leverage. Itachi was lying on the floor beside her, swaddled in both his own cloak and Shisui's. Her skin was still pricking, tingling, and she could not shake the feeling of being watched. As she stood up again, a voice came from behind.

"Going somewhere?"

She whipped round, Naruto and Shisui doing the same, and fell into a defensive stance, her feet apart, chakra circulating through her arms and legs. Perched on the edge of the reception desk, arms folded across his chest, was a man in a long black robe. Moonlight struck his back, outlining him in silver, and fell across the side of his mask. Sakura felt her breath hitch in her throat.

The masked man of Akatsuki – Uchiha Madara! She could feel cold sweat on her forehead and arms, and in the small of her back.

"Just taking a breath of air," said Shisui. As he spoke, he moved almost imperceptibly before the others. "You know how it is when you can't sleep."

The masked man made a small sound that might have been amusement. He tilted his head. The eyeholes in his mask were impenetrable shadows. "Ninjutsu and taijutsu are useless, you know. Your katon won't burn me."

Intangible, he's intangible, Sakura thought, her mind whirling in circles. He moves parts of his body out of the way of attacks – we'll never hit him. What do we do – how do we get out of here? Only Shisui-san and I can fight, and I – I'm a taijutsu specialist – I'm no use against someone who can go intangible. What do we do?

"Sakura," came Koyuki's voice, pitched low and soft. Sakura glanced at her, but the woman was facing forward, her lips barely moving as she spoke. "Sakura, can you make a hole in the wall to our right? The others will be coming from there."

Sakura's gaze flickered across the room, to the open window, and then back to Madara. He'd stop them escaping unless he were distracted – but how?

"Sakura-chan, make the hole," Naruto whispered. His voice had a note of authority. "I've faced him before – I know how to fight him." He reached into his backpack. "He'll go intangible to avoid physical attacks, but whilst he's like that, he can't transport himself away. So – with this –" He pulled out a fuuma shuriken, and snapped the blades open. In his other hand, he held four kunai with exploding notes attached to them.

For a moment, Sakura stared at him. Attacking head-on? It was completely mad – but there was that changed tone, that something different, something new that she had glimpsed in him before. She clenched her fist and nodded. Naruto flashed her one of his biggest grins, and sprang forward. "Here I come!"

Sakura seized Koyuki by the wrist, forced chakra into her feet and legs, and shot sideways, just as Naruto hurled his shuriken and Shisui unleashed a fireball. As she landed, she released Koyuki, spun and kicked, and felt timber crunching underfoot. In a shower of splinters and plaster, the wall collapsed outwards, and Sakura dived through, pulling Koyuki after her into the howling wind and driving snow.

Within, there was the sound of an explosion – Naruto's kunai, she realised – and raised voices. An instant later, Naruto tumbled through the gap in the wall, followed by Shisui carrying Itachi. Lights were flashing on in the windows of the _ryokan_ as they ran after Koyuki.

There was a roar, and lights flared through the dark and the snow ahead. "The snowbus!" Koyuki shouted, the wind snatching her voice and tearing it away.

Sakura could make out a dark shape behind the dazzling lights, looming larger and larger, and then quite suddenly it was alongside them, and the door was open, and hands were reaching for her and Koyuki, pulling them in. As soon as she was up, she turned and helped to haul Naruto in, and Itachi. Shisui sprang in behind him, the snowbus accelerated, and Sasuke slammed the door shut. The aisle linking the cab and the passenger compartment was suddenly very crowded.

Sakura looked back at the _ryokan_ as they roared away from it. Lights blazed from every window, streaming out the hole in the wall. Nowhere did she see Madara.

"Where – where is he?" she panted. She was shaking uncontrollably, her knees weak as water. She had to lean against the wall to stay upright.

"He?" asked Sasuke, crouched over Itachi.

"He didn't even bother to chase us," said Shisui.

"Why not?"

Shisui looked grim. "Because he probably knows where we're going."

"He?" Sasuke asked again.

"But – but how does he know?" Sakura asked.

Shisui shrugged. "He'll know from the chakra blast that Naruto has the suppressor on him. So he knows that either the suppressor will flare off at regular intervals and give away our location, or that we'll go to Yukigakure to have it removed. Whatever happens, he'll know where we are."

"_What_ he?" Sasuke demanded.

"Madara," Naruto said. "He found us."

Sasuke blanched, his eyes darting straight to Itachi, then back to Shisui. "We should not risk approaching Yukigakure," he said. "Not if Madara is going to be waiting for us."

Sakura looked up at Shisui. She had been so frightened – they had all been frightened, facing Madara. To go deliberately to a place where he expected them – She glanced at Naruto, and her fingers curled unconsciously into fists.

"Let's get Itachi somewhere more comfortable than the aisle floor," Shisui said. "We have to go to Yukigakure, Sasuke. Or would you prefer to have Naruto blasting chakra every few hours?"

"Hn."

"Thought so."

The snowbus was larger than the one that had met the ninja at the harbour earlier in the day, being used to transport groups of tourists to the _ryokan_ at Saruyama, and there were half a dozen passenger compartments leading off the aisle.

"Bring Itachi-san in here," said Koyuki, beckoning to them from one of the compartments. "See, the seats fold out into a bed, and there are blankets in the overhead cubby."

"Wonderful," said Shisui. "Sakura-chan, will you stay with him and watch him?"

Sakura nodded. "It gives me more time to heal him," she said, shrugging off her pack and slinging it into a corner of the compartment. Seating herself on the edge of the makeshift bed, she pulled off her gloves and touched one hand to Itachi's forehead and then his cheek. He was cold to the touch.

"We're going up front to talk with Sai and Yukika," Shisui said. "Will you need anything?"

She shook her head.

"I hope you can heal him, Sakura," said Koyuki.

"Of course she can," said Naruto, grinning broadly. "She's the Fifth Hokage's apprentice!"

Sakura met his eyes, and smiled back at him, feeling suddenly lighter and more confident. Only Naruto had such faith in her that it made her believe she could do anything. It was that smile, that enormous, brilliant smile, and the certainty that he always radiated. He was inspiring. No wonder Hinata had fallen for him.

"So, Sasuke, how about trying a chidori on this suppressor thing?"

"I've already told you no, you moron."

"Don't worry, you won't hurt me."

"More's the pity."

"What was that?"

And no wonder she hadn't. He was so exasperating. And yet, she thought, as she watched Naruto and Sasuke trail out of the compartment after Shisui, bickering with each other, and yet … there were moments when he had some new quality, something different about him. At the inn, facing Madara – there had been something then … something at the cove back in the Water Country … the town hall at Mizushima … His face, eyebrows drawn together, mouth set and determined … The face of a man, not a boy.

She sighed, and turned back to Itachi. So much wrong with him. Why hadn't she seen it before?

Because, Inner Sakura supplied, he didn't want you to. He's always self-assured, always taking charge, never to be questioned, and so you never see further than Uchiha Itachi, the prodigy, ANBU captain, Konoha jounin, team leader. You see one Itachi-san, but the real Itachi-san is very different.

And very sick. His heart was beating steadily for the moment, but it was only a matter of time before the palpitations began again. She would have to watch him throughout the night. As for his lungs, they were so inflamed and clogged with phlegm that she wondered how he could breathe. She needed to do something about that, and now.

From her satchel, she retrieved a clean cloth, folded it in half and placed it beside the bed. Crawling onto the bed, she turned Itachi onto his front, and gently tugged him to the edge of the bed, so that his head hung over the side, above the cloth. His hair had come loose from his ponytail, and fell in curtains around his face. She would have to put it up again.

Running her fingers through it as she gathered it up, she marvelled at how silky it was. Beautiful hair, dark as a raven's wing, so thick and yet so fine. It lacked the gloss and lustre of Sasuke's hair, but that was no surprise now that she knew how ill he was.

"Well, that's about to change," she said out loud, rolling up her sleeves. "All that muck in your lungs is coming out."

She cupped her hands and began to clap them vigorously along Itachi's back, working over his ribs. Before long, he began to cough weakly, a wet, rattling cough. She stopped, wiped his mouth with the cloth, then made a series of seals, and placed her hands flat on his back. His cough died down. The quiet hum of healing chakra filled the little compartment.

xXx

The snowbus roared through the night and the flying snow. Its headlights swept the road ahead, picking out the trees on either side. In places, the black pines gave way to sheer rock faces, rising steeply up and up, or long slopes that fell away to the valley floors far below. Shisui could not see how far they went, but the empty space on the side of the road told him all he needed to know. If they went over the edge, they would go rolling and crashing and bouncing hundreds of feet down, the sort of fall that not even shinobi could take without injury.

"Relax," said Yukika. "I'm not going to drive off the road."

He glanced at her. She was smiling slightly, her eyes forward and fixed on the road.

"I know you don't trust me, but I would never do anything to harm Koyuki-hime."

"So you say."

"I swear upon my honour as a shinobi. Protecting her is my mission, but it is also –" Yukika hesitated, colour creeping into her cheeks. "It is also more than a mission," she said quietly. "I admired her when she was still Fujikaze Yukie, the actress. I went to all her films. It was her role as Princess Fuun that inspired me to become a ninja. I wanted to be an elegant, beautiful warrior."

Shisui nodded, but said nothing. Let her fill in the silence.

"It seems silly now, but I was just a child at the time, so I guess idealistic, unrealistic ideas were to be expected. Anyway, I enrolled at the Academy in Yukigakure because of Princess Fuun – because of Koyuki-hime – and when it turned out that Fujikaze Yukie was actually our own lost princess, I – I didn't know what to do. The village was controlled by Rouga Nadare, who was working for Koyuki-hime's uncle Dotou, and he wanted her dead or captured. I was sixteen, a brand-new chuunin, and was called up for the mission to wipe out the resistance. I refused. My sensei asked me why – I told him that I had become a kunoichi because of Princess Fuun, and I would not do anything to hurt her, especially since she was the rightful daimyo. So he pulled me from the mission, on the pretext that I was ill.

"My sensei died on that mission – the ninja protecting Koyuki-hime attacked the train and blew up the bridge it was crossing. Only two carriages got away."

Yukika fell silent, and Shisui glanced away, his eyes returning to the road ahead. The ninja who protected Koyuki-san, he thought. She means Kakashi-san, and Sasuke and Naruto and Sakura. What drives Yukika on? A blind desire to protect Koyuki-san at all costs? Or is it revenge? No wonder she looks at Naruto like she would like to skin him alive.

They were climbing steadily higher, above the trees now, and the wind was savage, buffeting the snowbus, hurling pellets of snow across the windshield, swirling round and blasting them from another side. The road here was a narrow strip carved from the side of the mountain, covered with blowing snow.

Presently, Yukika found her voice again. "When Koyuki-hime was proclaimed daimyo, I was made her bodyguard. I was so happy and excited to be protecting my idol, but the thing about protecting someone, being with her every day for the last three years – you come to see them differently. She was my idol, but now I know Koyuki-hime the person. I've seen her sitting in state, being gracious to foreign politicians and dignitaries, granting audiences to people, and seen her afterwards, when the formal robes come off, and she's just a woman with a headache and a movie script to memorise. I've been on set with her, and been amazed by how she can change herself to fit any character, but afterwards, when the makeup is coming off, she's the real Koyuki-hime again. When she's on tour or at a premiere, everyone comes crowding around and asking for her autograph. She's warm and kind and will sign anything for anyone. It makes her happy to see her fans happy. She almost has too much time for them, but she wouldn't have it any other way. She says that as an actress and a princess, she needs to be a good rôle model, and so she needs to be friendly and to have time for people, and to encourage them to believe in themselves and their dreams. That is Koyuki-hime. Can you see why I want to protect her?" Her voice had risen, swelling with passion, and her eyes shone.

Blind devotion, Shisui thought. Koyuki-san is still your idol, Yukika. You just worship the whole person, not just the actress.

"Do you see now why I had to give Akatsuki Naruto-kun?" she asked. "I can't face them. They're in a class of their own. The only way to keep Koyuki-hime safe when they arrived was to go along with their demands. The masked man promised that Koyuki-hime would be free if I delivered the jinchuuriki to him. It was the only way I could protect her."

"And that turned out well," said Shisui drily. "The whole organisation is made up of S-class missing nin. They aren't exactly known for keeping promises."

Yukika let go a quivering breath. "I can see that now," she said quietly. "I was naïve. I won't trust them again. Please, believe me when I say that I will not betray you." She glanced quickly at Shisui, then back at the road.

"That moment, when the centipede –" She paused, her lips trembling. "I thought Koyuki-hime had died. There was nothing I could do, but you Konoha ninja – you saved her, and got us all away safely. You can protect Koyuki-hime against Akatsuki. I won't betray you again. I swear it."

Shisui gave her a hard look, but she was in earnest, misery and shame and hope mingling on her face. A hard lesson for her, he thought, passing one hand through his tousled hair.

"I'll accept it for now," he said. "I don't doubt your loyalty to Koyuki-san. It doesn't mean I trust you, though."

"I understand," she said quietly.

"Tell me," he went on, "is Yukigakure also working for Akatsuki?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. I think the village is still loyal to Koyuki-hime. No orders ever came from them about your group."

Shisui sighed, settled back in his seat. "We'll have to risk it," he said. "We can't go on with that suppressor on Naruto."

Yukika bit her lip. "No," she said. "I'm sorry."

Silence fell once more in the cabin. The snowbus roared onwards and upwards, climbing the narrow mountain road. Snow-plastered cliffs towered on the right hand side, and a rocky bluff loomed ahead. In its lee, the wind was less vicious, the snow less thick, but as the bus rounded the point of the bluff and came out from behind its shelter, the world turned to howling whiteness. The snowbus slowed to a crawl.

In the passenger compartments, Naruto felt the bus slow and looked at Sasuke, sitting opposite him, his chin dropped on his clasped hands, eyes closed. There was a small line between his brows.

"D'you think we're there yet?" Naruto asked, turning to the window. "I can't see much out there – it looks pretty dark."

Sasuke said nothing, and Naruto breezed on. "That map Sai has – it looks like Yukigakure's in the middle of the mountains. We've been going up and up for hours now. Man, I hope we get there soon. This drive is so boring."

He glanced sidelong at Sasuke. Still no response. For a moment, he contemplated poking the other boy, just to get a reaction, but at that moment there came the muffled cough again and the murmur of Sakura's voice, and Sasuke's face changed. Naruto sat back and resumed counting the time since the chakra suppressor had flared. By his calculations, it must have taken it close on three hours before releasing that first blast of chakra. The length of their ride in the snowbus he was finding harder to judge – it seemed as though they had been travelling for ages through the dark and the blizzard, but his time sense disagreed. An hour and a half? Two hours? Certainly it could not be more. Sakura-chan had been healing Itachi all the while, and he was fairly sure that medical jutsu were too chakra intensive for Sakura-chan to keep them up for hours on end. Then again, she could be reckless – he'd heard from Shikamaru, who'd got it from Ino, that Sakura had used an exploding note on herself to escape an enemy trap before. And then, in the big battle, she'd been fooled by disguised Zetsu when they appealed to her compassion as a healer. Sakura-chan had too soft a heart. If he'd been just a moment later – It still made his stomach hot to think of it. Perhaps he should go and check in on her, make sure she wasn't overdoing it. Sasuke could come too, get a look at his brother. It would at least stop him brooding for a little.

He got up, exuding resolve from every pore. "Come on, Sasuke," he said. "Let's see how Sakura-chan and your brother are."

He strode to the door, flung it open, and stepped out into the corridor. As he had expected, Sasuke grunted and rose to his feet to follow him, and he smiled to himself.

Sakura looked up as they came into her compartment. Her hair was in disarray, her bangs falling out of her ponytail and hanging in her eyes, and there were shadows under her eyes. She's overdoing it, Naruto thought.

"Hey, Sakura-chan," he said aloud. "Me 'n Sasuke thought we'd come to see how you're doing."

Sakura smiled, and Naruto felt that familiar ache in his chest. "Itachi-san is much better," she said, her eyes going straight to Sasuke. "He's sleeping now, rather than unconscious. He'll be fine when he wakes up."

Sasuke nodded. "Thank you," he said, his expression soft.

"You look tired, Sakura-chan," Naruto interjected. "You should probably get some sleep."

She looked at him. "I've been napping on and off. I'm fine. What about you two, and Sai?"

"Sai's sleeping," Naruto told her.

"Good. His body needs it, to repair that arm."

Naruto felt a pang of guilt. Sai had probably tried to shield him from the explosion – how else had he come out of it unscathed? Even the Kyuubi couldn't patch him up _that_ fast.

Sakura saw his face. "It's not as bad as it looks. Another healing session, and his arm will be as good as new." She stifled a yawn, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. "What are we going to do when we get to Yukigakure?" she asked. "Did Shisui-san say?"

"We have to get the suppressor off Naruto as soon as possible," Sasuke said. "That's unchanged, even if _he's_ there, waiting for us. If he is, Shisui will use a henge to pretend he's Naruto, and I'll go with him, or Itachi, if he's awake. You, Sai and the real Naruto are to follow Yukika, who'll take you to the engineers, who can get the suppressor off. Then we slip away."

"Easier said than done. We only got away from the inn because he _let_ us get away."

Naruto grinned down at Sakura's worried face. "Don't forget, Sakura-chan, I'll be able to use chakra again, both mine _and _the Kyuubi's, make kagebunshin and go into Sage Mode. Incoming _rasen chou tarengan!_" He struck a dramatic pose.

"You have a one track mind," said Sasuke. "It's like kagebunshin and rasengan are the only jutsu you know."

Naruto looked indignant. "They work, don't they? Besides, not all of us have copycat eyes."

Sakura giggled, then had to swallow another yawn. "All right," she said. "Break it up you two. If you fight in here and wake Itachi-san …"

Both boys blanched and Naruto backed up a step. "Wake Itachi? No thanks," he said. "You know what? I think we should probably leave you to get some sleep."

The snowbus, which had been crawling along, suddenly picked up speed, and the three young ninja met each other's eyes, then turned automatically to the window. There was a dim greenish glow outside, illuminating walls of frost-furred rock and an overarching roof in which pale lights were set. In places, icicles hung from the ceiling, but the road was free of ice and snow, and there was no wind.

"A tunnel!" Sakura said. "I wonder how far it goes."

"It's probably the start of the network of tunnels surrounding Yukigakure," said Sasuke. "Yukika told us about them. Attackers and tresspassers get lost in here – you need a guide from the village to get through."

Sakura nodded absently, standing with her hands pressed to the window. There was a very good chance that Yukigakure was hostile, or that Madara was already waiting for them. If they had to flee, they could so easily get lost in this underground labyrinth.

The snowbus turned sharply.

"First right," Sakura murmured.

Hearing her, Sasuke smiled. "Come on," he said, tapping Naruto on the shoulder. "Let's leave Sakura – she's got things to do and doesn't need us distracting her."

The two boys trailed out of the compartment, leaving Sakura at the window. The snowbus took another turn.

"Third right, downhill."

xXx

The village of Yukigakure lay in a deep glaciated valley, hidden by the inland mountains. The steep sides were bare of trees, ribbed with rocky moraines instead, but the valley floor was wide and in summer it was filled with alpine flowers and grasses, and sedges that grew in the narrow ribbon-like river that meandered down the valley. In winter, the snow lay deep, and a cold wind blew down from the mountains. A crag rose in the centre of the valley, and it was on and around this outcropping that the village had been founded. During Dotou's rule, it had grown as laboratories and factories went up, towering like black fortresses above the older buildings, belching smoke by night and day. Now it sprawled across the valley floor, cut through and through by the river. In the night, it gleamed with hundreds of lights, colouring the snow-filled air with an orange haze.

Shisui, looking at it, was reminded of the Fields of Fire back home, a plateau of ash and rock where the black ground cracked open to show the flames glowing within. He had been there twice, once with his father after Obito-niisan's death, and once on the way back from an ANBU mission with Itachi, when they visited the Stone there. He did not wish to return a third time.

As the snow bus neared the gates, a pair of guards stepped out of the dark into the stretch of road illumined by the bus' headlights. Yukika braked, and the guards approached, one on each side of the bus. "Here we go," she said. "I hope that Akatsuki didn't get here before us."

Shisui leaned back in his seat, lounging with all the insolent grace of a cat. "It doesn't matter if they have," he said. "We have to get to an engineer. Incidentally, why are they wearing those hideous grey bodysuits?"

Yukika laughed. "That's our chakra armour. It absorbs all ninjutsu attacks, renders genjutsu useless, and enhances the wearer's chakra. The weak point is the _inyo_, the yin-yang symbol, on the shoulder or chest. That's the source of the extra chakra."

Shisui nodded, his sharingan flickering on for the briefest of moments. He could see the chakra flowing through the suits, and the little balls of concentrated chakra roiling within the _inyo_, and thanked the Snow ninja for making their weak point so obvious.

As the guards reached them, Yukika wound down her window, letting a blast of cold wind into the cabin of the bus. "Yemon-san," she said with a smile, pulling her hair out of her face. "I'm escorting Koyuki-hime up from the palace – she was attacked by an S-class assassin, and the safest place for her now is the village."

Yemon peered round her at Shisui. "Who's he?"

"He's from Konoha, one of the shinobi Koyuki-hime requested to help fortify our defences. The others are in the back of the bus with the princess. I can vouch for them."

Shisui nodded, conscious of the other guard looking suspiciously through his window. "Uchiha Shisui, at your service."

"An Uchiha!" Yemon's eyes widened. "Your team is most welcome here." He stepped away from the bus. "All clear, Kousuke. It's Yukika escorting the princess. I'm letting them through."

The other guard called back in the affirmative, and Yemon turned to Yukika. "You can drive on."

"Thank you." She started to let the clutch in, then paused, as if struck by a sudden thought, and leaned out the window. "Yemon-san, do you know if Miyu is on duty?"

Yemon chuckled. "Can't wait to see him, eh? He's probably at home asleep, right now."

Yukika nodded. "Thank you, Yemon-san." She released the handbrake, and the bus rolled forward. Ahead of them, the gates swung slowly open, and Yukika let out a shaky breath.

"So far, so good," she said. "It seems like Akatsuki isn't here yet."

Shisui glanced into the wing mirror, looking back at the guards following them in. "Seems so," he said. "Who is this Miyu?"

Colour suffused Yukika's cheeks. "He's part of the engineering corps. We're lucky he's off-duty. We can take Naruto-kun to him and have him remove the suppressor."

The interior door of the cab slid open, and Shisui glanced round to see Sai standing there. "Sempai, Sakura sent me to tell you that Itachi-taichou is awake."

Shisui's heart seemed to pause for a moment, and then began to bang against his breastbone. "Tell Itachi to go back to sleep," he said, grinning. "I'm enjoying being able to abuse my authority. Oh, and tell the others to get ready. We're in the Hidden Snow."

* * *

><p><strong>Tedious notes of an explanatory nature<strong>

There aren't any. Except maybe an explanation of cat claws, which are rather like a deadly set of nail extensions, except they are strapped onto the hand, sometimes by means of a glove, are very pointy, and made of metal. They were used to attack the eyes or throat.


	11. The Hidden Snow

At last, the next chapter! Chapter Twelve will follow some time in the next fortnight; it just needs a little tweaking.

As always, thank you to Just Subliminal for being a wonderful beta.

* * *

><p>Chapter Eleven<p>

The Hidden Snow

It was cold and windy and horrible, and Sakura could not feel the tip of her nose at all. Her hair kept whipping across her eyes, and the gusts of snow stung her face. Her gloved hands were tucked into her armpits for warmth. This was a terrible place to build a village, with the wind sweeping off the mountains and scouring the valley mercilessly. She was no longer sure if snow was falling or being picked up from the ground and blown in freezing clouds. The sooner they could get out of the streets and under cover again, the better. She hoped that this Miyu did not live too far off.

Screwing up her eyes, she peered through the storm. Naruto and Sasuke and Yukika were crossing the main road ahead, slipping through the orange glow of the streetlights. They stuck close together for protection against the wind, contriving to look as much like normal villagers out for a late night stroll as they could. Not that any villager would be out in this sort of weather, Sakura thought. Still, so far, so good. That is, as long as Itachi-san doesn't collapse again.

Glancing sideways at him, she could see that his mouth was set in a straight line, lips compressed. His breath came in harsh blasts through his nostrils, but he was no longer coughing. On his other side, Koyuki watched him with an anxious expression.

As they approached the crossroads, Shisui suddenly stiffened, looking off to the left. "Company's coming," he said. "Come on, Sai." The two of them shot into the shadows, disappearing into the dark.

Her stomach tight with apprehension, Sakura swung round, gathering chakra in her body. There were four figures approaching them through the snow, jogging down the main road. They were making no effort to conceal themselves, and as they came closer, she could see the streetlights shining on their forehead protectors and the _inyo_ symbols on the shoulder of their suits. Snow ninja, and loyal to the daimyo. She relaxed a little.

"Don't let your guard down, Sakura," said Itachi. He too had stopped, and now stood with his feet slightly apart, weight balanced evenly, ready to move in any direction. "Koyuki-san, stay behind me."

"Daimyo-sama!" The Snow ninja drew to a stop and bowed. "Daimyo-sama, forgive us for not being prepared to receive you properly. Please allow us to escort you to Huyu-sama."

Koyuki nodded. "Thank you," she said. "I would be delighted to see Huyu-dono." She glanced obliquely at Itachi, but his face was impassive, unreadable. As the group moved off, he fell in behind her, Sakura hurrying to follow his lead.

"Taichou," she whispered, "what about Naruto?"

Itachi turned his dark eyes on her. "We have to stay with the princess. Madara used her once before; he may very well try to use her again."

Sakura cast one quick look down the road, but she could no longer see the others, swallowed up by the shadows and the snow. She suddenly felt deeply alone and very vulnerable. Shisui and Sai would go on after Naruto, as he absolutely had to be protected from Akatsuki whilst he could not use his chakra, leaving her with only an ill Itachi to face whatever threats came Koyuki's way. There were the Snow ninja as well, but she did not know if she could trust them completely. The responsibility for keeping Koyuki safe lay squarely on her shoulders, and she was tired and running low on chakra after all the escaping and fighting and healing of the day. It was hard to think that it was only this morning that they had reached the Snow Country, only this morning that they had met Yukika.

On the main road, the wind was particularly bad, funnelled between the buildings looming on either side and then blasting straight down the road with nothing to stop it. Sakura drew her cloak more closely around herself and leaned her forehead into the howling wind. As their party toiled up the road, she glanced sidelong at Itachi once more, assessing his breathing and his colour. He seemed to know that she was looking at him, for he turned his head slightly and met her gaze. After a moment, her eyes slid away from his unreadable ones, and she busied herself with taking in as much of their surroundings as she could. In the middle of the night, with a blizzard sweeping off the mountains and down the valley, this was not much.

They crossed a bridge that rose in a lazy span across an outflung arm of the river. Below, Sakura could see the dark water flowing sluggishly along its course, reflecting the orange streetlights. Sheets of ice were already congealing along the banks where the current ran slowest.

"It'll freeze over completely in a few days," one of the Snow nin said to her cheerfully. "Then all the kids go skating on the river. You ever tried skating?"

Sakura shook her head. "It never gets cold enough in Konoha. Our winters are rainy."

"You've never skated? I'll have to show you, then," he said. "Or we could try skiing, or go dog sledding. I work at the kennels – it would be easy to arrange."

Sakura smiled at him. "I'd like that," she said.

"That's a cute backpack you have," he went on. "It's the same colour as your hair – really pretty."

She blinked. "Thank you," she said, and then remembered her horrible little green man bag charm, and flushed, hoping that he hadn't seen it.

Another cloud of wind-driven snow hit them, and Itachi raised a hand to his mouth, muffling a cough. "Are we nearly there?" Sakura asked, shivering.

The young Snow ninja laughed. "It's the big building at the end of the road. Look, Huyu-sama is already in. The lights in his office are on upstairs."

Looking up, Sakura saw the windows gleaming like yellow eyes in the dark façade of the building. She let out a soft breath. Glancing in Itachi's direction, she caught Koyuki's eye, and they exchanged a quick smile.

Huyu was a tall, imposing man in his forties, with shoulders like a bull and small black eyes that betrayed nothing of the thoughts passing behind them. His grey hair, still damp and showing the toothmarks of combing, was slicked back from his temples and forehead, making his broad face appear even broader. He rose from behind his desk as the group entered and executed a smooth bow. "Daimyo-sama."

"Huyu-dono." Koyoki inclined her head.

"Please, take a seat. I am sorry we are not better prepared to receive you," he said, waving Koyuki over to a chair in front of his desk. "I have a message here from Yemon that an assassin made an attempt on your life. I can assure you of the village's protection whilst you are here." His gaze flickered over to Itachi. "Uchiha-san," he said, and Itachi nodded courteously. He glanced at Sakura, then back at Itachi and Koyuki. "Where are Yukika and the rest of the group?"

"Yukika is leading them on a village sweep," Itachi said. "Forgive me for this breach of manners, but after the assassination attempt, we cannot be too careful."

Huyu looked at Itachi in silence, and Sakura tugged anxiously at the straps of her pink satchel. Sending a team to sweep another shinobi village without first asking permission was a gross violation of protocol, almost a declaration of hostile intent. She could only hope that Itachi's apology and the fact that Koyuki had specifically requested them was enough to mollify Huyu, otherwise things could get ugly fast.

After a long pause, whilst unseen thoughts moved behind those inscrutable black eyes, Huyu spoke again. "The message speaks of just one S-rank missing nin."

"It's Akatsuki," Itachi said, and for the first time Huyu's face showed naked alarm.

"Akatsuki? But they've an army big enough to take on the four major shinobi villages!" He frowned. "I must alert the village. What is the likelihood that you have been tracked here? Can we expect an attack?"

Itachi shrugged. "As I understand our mission here, the daimyo called for us because she was concerned for the safety of your giant generator. Akatsuki has already amassed most of the _bijuu_, and may very well be interested in harnessing the power of that generator. They've overrun the Water Country and captured Kirigakure, so that leaves them poised to strike at your throat. Since they've already made an attempt on the daimyo's life I imagine that they already have a presence in this country, and that an assault is soon to follow."

Huyu nodded. "Izo," he said, and the young shinobi who had offered to take Sakura ice-skating and dog-sledding jumped to attention. "Send a message to the patrol at the Rainbow Glacier, telling them to stand by and prepare themselves for an enemy assault. Seiji, I want as many of the off-duty jounin as you can find in here in the next twenty minutes."

The two ninja saluted before leaving the room, and Huyu turned back to Itachi, his face smooth once more. "If the generator is their objective, we will have to send reinforcements out there. The patrol can't hope to hold it on their own. How many of them did you say there were?"

"We were attacked by just one of them. A long-range fighter who specialises in guided missiles. He's a missing nin from Iwagakure and has the bakuton bloodline limit."

"Bakuton? You mean explosions?" Huyu glanced at Koyuki and Sakura. "What elements does he use?"

"Earth. You'll need some capable lightning users if you want to counter his technique."

There was a niggling feeling of uncertainty in the pit of Sakura's stomach. Itachi had gone after Deidara to finish him off, but he was speaking of him as though he were still alive, still a threat. Which could only mean –

_A mighty big spider_, Shisui had said. _A pillar of light … an explosion that rocked the ground_. It must have been enormous. Team Seven had seen the pall of smoke rising from Kirigakure the next day.

She wanted to run to the window and look outside, see if Deidara was overhead, but she could not. Instead, she looked at Koyuki. The woman was listening to Itachi and Huyu, her gaze moving from one to the other, her face grave.

"He took out the entire Hidden Mist?" Huyu was saying, appalled. "We'll have to evacuate the villagers, send them to the bunkers." He flicked a look in the direction of one of the two other Snow shinobi in the room. "See to it. Daimyo-sama" – this, turning to Koyuki – "I must request that you join them. The bunkers are deep underground, and are proof against avalanches and earthquakes. You'll be safest there."

Koyuki smiled, but her chin was set and stubborn. "Huyu-dono, I understand and appreciate your concern. However, I wish to be present at the meeting with the jounin. I am the daimyo of this country, and it is my people who are under attack. I want to know how best to protect them." There was a steely glint in her eyes as she matched her gaze with Huyu's.

After a moment, Huyu bowed his head. "As you wish, daimyo-sama." There was a tap at the door, and he looked up. "The jounin must be starting to arrive. Come in!"

xXx

The residential quarter of Yukigakure was one of the oldest parts of the village, and lay directly under the shelter of the crag. The streets were narrow and twisted in every which way, with tall apartment blocks jumbled together with small shops – a grocer here, a bookseller there – and long terrace rows. Unlit sidestreets ran off into the darkness, some with refuse bins clustered at their mouths, others little slits of impenetrable night. It was like a warren, Sai thought, almost as confusing as Root's network of tunnels below Konoha. He kept glancing over his shoulder, trying to fix the shape and the look of the streets in his mind so that they could find their way out again without Yukika.

It was dark amongst the houses, but the industrial areas lower down the valley were lit up. Against the pall of orange light, the residential quarter crouched like some misshapen crooked creature, with its buildings of different heights and shapes, huddled against the base of the crag. It was not beautiful, but Sai knew that he wanted to paint it, to capture the ominous firey glow in the night and the way the buildings barred it with black. A village like a sleeping tiger, he thought, where danger lurks unseen – Yes, a tiger – He would paint it so that at first glance you saw the village and then if you looked again, you saw the tiger formed from hazy light and the silhouettes of tall buildings. His fingers twitched, his palms itching with the urge to seize brush and ink and start drawing.

Up ahead, Yukika came to a stop outside one of the apartment buildings. As she stepped up to the door to ring the bell, a light snapped on overhead, catching her and the two boys with her in its beam. Quickly, Sai and Shisui sank back into the storm, waiting and watching from the dark.

The intercom on the door crackled into life.

"Miyu? It's Yukika. Let me up, please. It's urgent."

The intercom crackled again, and then the door buzzed and Yukika pushed it open. Naruto and Sasuke followed her in, and the door started to swing shut behind them. The next moment, Shisui was over the road, his shunshin so fast that he had one foot wedged in the door almost before Sai had realised he had left his side.

"Come on," Shisui called quietly, and Sai joined him.

The stairwell was brightly lit and painted a garish yellow. There was no place to hide, except perhaps, if one were very hopeful and very small, behind the potted plants on the landing. Sai glanced at Shisui, who shrugged and started up the stairs, treading quietly. There really was nothing else to do, not if they wanted to stay close to Naruto, and Sai followed. His skin prickled uncomfortably as he climbed the stairs, and he wished that he still had his ink and his scrolls.

Just below the landing of the third floor, Shisui stopped and stood pressed to the wall. Sai fell into place behind him, waiting for his signal to move.

Naruto and Sasuke were bickering quietly about something inane, but fell silent as Yukika knocked at the door. A moment later, Shisui and Sai heard the door open, hinges creaking, and a man's voice. "Yukika – what's wrong?" Then, in a startled voice, "Who are they?"

"We can talk inside, Miyu."

Sai threw one quick glance over his shoulder, down the stairs, but they were empty, the light from the bare bulbs glaring off the yellow walls.

"All clear," he murmured, and Shisui gave a soft grunt, still peering round the wall at the group on the landing.

As the door started to fall to with a drawn-out squeak, he felt Shisui tense momentarily, and then he was gone. Sai followed immediately, and the two of them slipped through the door and into Miyu's apartment.

With one swift glance, Sai took in the size and shape of the room, the low bed in one corner, the kitchenette with the polished chopping block, a gas hob and a row of kitchen knives in their wooden block, the goggles and gloves and a pouch of ninja tools lying on the table in the middle of the room. Miyu himself was sleep-tousled, his soft brown hair rumpled, his pajama top unbuttoned. No real threat, Sai thought, or at least, not until he's fully awake.

"All right," said Miyu, picking up the kettle and carrying it to the sink. "Who are they, Yukika, and what is going on? And who are the two lurking in the doorway?" He began to fill the kettle.

Surprised, Sai glanced at Shisui, who was already stepping forward.

"You've got good eyes," Shisui said. "Not an average member of the engineering corps, are you?"

"Miyu, this is Uchiha Shisui, of Konoha," said Yukika hurriedly. "He and the others are here to protect Koyuki-hime. She's been attacked by an S-class missing nin, and we need your help."

Miyu stiffened. "Where is the princess?" he asked, his voice sharp. Sai noticed that the sleepy look had gone from his face. "Why aren't you with her?"

"This isn't all the team," Yukika said. "The others are guarding Koyuki-hime right now. Miyu, we need your help, we really do. Naruto-kun, this boy here, he's got a chakra suppressor on him, and it has to come off within the next fifteen minutes."

Miyu squinted at the suppressor on Naruto, then looked up at Yukika. "It's one of ours," he said. "You put it on him, and now you want it off?"

"It was an accident. Miyu, it has to come off before it flares again and gives away the princess' location."

"Really, Miyu-niisan," Naruto chimed in earnestly. Sai noted that he was giving the man one of his most beseeching looks, his eyes big and blue and pleading. It was a look that he had observed people having trouble resisting. "I can't use any chakra at all, and the last time it flared it brought the missing nin right to us. I can't protect Koyuki-neechan like this."

Miyu held his gaze for a long moment, his suspicious frown wavering in the face of that heartfelt look, and then cursed suddenly. The kettle was overflowing, hot water spilling down its sides and burning his hands. Hastily he turned off the tap. "Oh, all right," he said, putting the kettle on the stove and turning on the gas. "Yukika, will you see to the tea? Naruto, right? Sit over there, under the light. It's not easy to get one of these off."

It was also painful. The suppressor had fastened itself to Naruto with cables that had torn through his clothes and even punctured his flesh in order to tap into his chakra network. As Miyu released each cable, one by one, Naruto winced, gritting his teeth, and his grip on the back of the chair tightened.

"Can't you get them all to come off at the same time?" Sasuke asked after the third one. "It would be quicker and easier on him."

Miyu shook his head. "Quicker, yes, but not easier. He'd probably pass out from the pain."

"I'd rather pass out than have this flare again." Naruto's voice was hoarse, but his face was filled with grim determination. "We don't have much time."

Miyu hesitated. "But –"

"You want to protect Koyuki-neechan, right? Then do it!"

Miyu looked at Yukika, who gave a helpless shrug. "All right," he said, and took up a small screwdriver and a pair of miniature pliers. Sai, curious, watched as he worked on the main body of the suppressor, opening up a small panel in its side, and then reaching in with the pliers and bending and pulling and cutting wires within. Setting his tools down, he placed one hand over the _inyo_ symbol in the centre of the suppressor, forming a seal with his free hand. "Are you ready?"

Naruto nodded, and Miyu gave the _inyo_ a sharp twist twist, then tugged, wrenching the remaining cables out of his back. Naruto cried out, arching away from the pain, his fingers uncurling from the back of the chair and flexing spasmodically so that the tendons in his hands stood taut. As he slumped forward, Sasuke caught him.

Miyu put the suppressor down on the table, pushed his own chair back and rose to his feet. "The kid's got guts," he said admiringly.

"That's Naruto for you," said Shisui. "How is he, Sasuke?"

The first rising notes of a siren wailed out, rising in pitch and volume, and every one of the shinobi round the table tensed. Yukika ran to the window and pulled the curtains back. In the buildings across the street, lights were flashing on, and over the blaring siren they could hear the muffled thumping overhead as people stumbled out of bed and the slamming of doors in the corridor outside.

"It's an evacuation alert." Yukika looked pale. "Is Akatsuki –"

"We'd better get to Itachi," said Shisui. "Sasuke, you'll have to carry Naruto."

"No he won't," said Naruto, rising unsteadily to his feet. "I have my chakra back – I'm fine." He set one hand on the back of the chair and shut his eyes.

Sasuke snorted, and Sai raised his brows.

"Still, he's amazingly resilient," said Miyu.

"Well, yes, that's Naruto," said Shisui. "All right, boys, Yukika. We're moving out. Miyu-san, thank you for your help."

Naruto's eyes flew open, brilliant yellow instead of blue, and ringed with orange. "Sakura-chan and the others are in trouble," he said. "They're surrounded by Zetsu soldiers."

He and Sasuke exchanged a look, and the two of them hurtled for the door, bursting through it and out onto the landing. Already there were people streaming down the stairs, parents carrying frightened, sleep-befuddled toddlers, older children running at their heels, ninja adjusting their grey body suits or strapping on shuriken holsters, an old woman leaning on her walking stick. Naruto and Sasuke did not stop, but barrelled headlong down the stairs.

"Zetsu soldiers?" Miyu asked.

"Akatsuki shapeshifters," said Shisui shortly. "Sai, Yukika, come on."

"Shapeshifters?" Miyu's face changed, hardening. "I'm joining you." He turned away, casting around for his forehead protector, and Sai quickly slid the chakra suppressor up his sleeve before following Shisui and Yukika out the door.

Sai flew down the stairs, threading through the stream of evacuating villagers, and into the street. The wind and the snow lashed him, the cold cutting his face like a knife, but already Naruto and Sasuke were racing away through the storm, and he sped after them, pushing through the gathering crowd.

They struck the main road, and Naruto's pace redoubled. Sai could feel sweat on his brow despite the cold, and his burned arm was throbbing mercilessly. Over a bridge, and now they could see the looming shape of a big, official-looking building at the end of the road, with lights gleaming from upstairs windows.

"Koyuki-hime and the others are most likely up there," Yukika called.

Naruto nodded, and released Sage Mode, reaching inside himself for the well of Kyuubi chakra. A moment later, he burst into brilliant golden flames, drew his arm back, and punched forward. An enormous hand of chakra shot out, pouring towards that lit upper window. As soon as it grappled the windowsill, Naruto leaped, the chakra pulling him up to the window, and smashed through the glass with a rasengan.

It was chaos inside, the room flooded with Zetsu in various states of transformation. There were a handful of genuine Snow ninja, most of them driven behind a broken desk, where a big bull-like man lay bleeding heavily from his side. Koyuki and Sakura were backed into a corner, Sakura punching and spinning and kicking, fending off attack after attack, whilst Itachi was completely surrounded by Zetsu. Naruto did not hesitate, but launched himself straight for Itachi, driving a barrage of rasengan into the midst of the Zetsu.

"Get Sakura and Koyuki-san," Itachi said, eyeing the sudden grove of young trees taking root in the office floor. The Zetsu around them drew back. "I can deal with the remaining Zetsu."

Naruto nodded, and thrust chakra into his feet and legs. In a flash he was across the room, appearing in a burst of glowing gold between Sakura and the ninja pressing in on her.

"You all right, Sakura-chan?"

"I'm doing fine. We –" Ducking a blow aimed at her head, Sakura dropped and swept a partly transformed Zetsu's legs out from underneath it. "We have to get Koyuki-san safely out of here!"

"I'm working on it." Half a dozen arms of Kyuubi chakra erupted from the cloak of bright flames licking around Naruto. "_Rasen chou tarengan!_"

Sakura fell back to Koyuki's side as the stricken Zetsu started sprouting leaves and branches. The princess was watching their metamorphosis with horrified fascination, but at Sakura's touch she tore her gaze away from the stand of rapidly growing trees.

"We're going to run for it," Sakura said. "Whatever happens, stick with me."

Koyuki nodded, and Sakura turned back to watch for an opening. There was a _wumph_ and a ball of fire rolled out from somewhere behind the trees – Itachi's katon – and then Naruto drove forward again with his rasengan, forcing a clear path to the door.

"Now!" Sakura shouted, and sprang forward.

Koyuki screamed, and Sakura swung round. The Zetsu she had knocked down with the foot sweep was up again, and had seized hold of Koyuki. There was a kunai in his hand, and for a moment Sakura saw that Kirigakure kunoichi again, the sharp jerk of the blade across her throat and the way she had been tossed aside. Sudden fury flamed up in her veins, heat pouring through her. With a shout, she charged in, gathering a roiling mass of chakra in her fist, and punched the Zetsu in the jaw. She heard the crunch as she connected, saw his head arch back and his feet leave the floor, and she caught Koyuki by the wrist and hurtled for the door.

Just as they reached it, someone stepped into the open doorway, blocking it, and Sakura collided hard with them. She recoiled and lashed out with her fist, but the other moved even faster, knocking her arm aside and down before catching her wrist.

"Sakura," came a familiar voice, and she checked in mid-kick, and then went limp from mingled relief and mortification.

"Sasuke-kun," she said, pulling back and meeting his eyes. "Itachi-san and Naruto are still in there."

"Sacrificed them to the unholy jungle growing in the office, I see," said Shisui, looking round Sasuke.

"That's Naruto's doing," said Sakura, pushing Koyuki through the door and into Yukika's arms.

"Most unholy jungle, then," said Shisui. "Koyuki-san, are you all right?"

Koyuki nodded. Her hands were shaking. "What about the others?"

Shisui inclined his head towards the wrecked office. The trees were now so thick inside that their branches were starting to strain towards the door. "From the sounds of things, Naruto doesn't need much help."

Sasuke grunted. "With that idiot, you never know." He released Sakura's wrist, and disappeared amongst the trees. A moment later, a gout of fire billowed up, crackling through the branches and withering the leaves. Smoke began to filter through the trunks and drift out the door, and Sakura heard the sounds of coughing and spluttering, and Naruto's voice raised in protest.

"Sasuke, you dumbass, you've set the place alight."

"Trees burn. Anyway, you turned them all into trees in the first place."

"You didn't need to burn them. They were nice trees."

"They were attacking you."

"Not once they were fully trees they weren't."

"Sasuke."

A moment of silence.

"Er, yes, _niisan_?"

"Next time could you possibly look before you breathe fire all over the place?"

"Oh. Ah. Right."

Itachi emerged from the smoky depths of the office, Naruto and Sasuke and the Snow ninja trailing after him. There was a strong smell of singed hair, and as Itachi drew closer, Shisui's mouth quirked.

"Hair cut, Itachi?" he asked.

"When we get home, Sasuke is going to review his katons. His aim is abominable."

Sasuke looked sulky, but wisely said nothing.

"I like your new eyebrows," Shisui added. "Frizzled and curly suits you, Itachi. I knew you'd come round to curls in the end."

Leaning on two of the Snow ninja, Huyu stepped forward through the haze of smoke filling the corridor. His face was grey. The wound in his side was still bleeding heavily, blood seeping through his clothes. Sakura realised she was trembling at the sight, and averted her eyes quickly.

"Daimyo-sama, you have to get out of here." Huyu's voice was hoarse. "The village has been infiltrated and we cannot tell friend from foe. Even if we could clear out all the spies, Akatsuki will send their bomber to destroy the village from the air. It will be almost impossible to defend against him. If you will take my advice, take Yukika with you and go back to the mainland. Make for the headquarters of the Shinobi Alliance. That's the safest place for you right now."

Koyuki smiled. "I thank you for your concern, Huyu-dono. I agree that Yukigakure is no longer safe, but I won't leave my country. I'll defend it as long as I can – that is my duty as princess." She reached forward, placing her hands on either side of Huyu's face, and kissed his brow. "Protect this village. Ready the ninja to fight off Akatsuki. Send reinforcements to the generator. The Shinobi World War has come to us, and we must stand our ground."

Huyu's face worked for a moment, as though he wished to say something, but then he closed his eyes and bowed his head. "As you command, daimyo-sama."

Smoke was pouring through the doorway now, and orange flame leapt along the branches of the trees that had once been Zetsu. There was the sound of running feet in the corridor, and the shinobi swung round to see a mob of Snow ninja rushing towards them, kunai at the ready. One of Huyu's jounin stepped forward, hands raised. "The daimyo and Huyu-sama are safe," he began.

A flight of shuriken whirled through the air, and he sprang backwards, crossing his arms in front of his face in the nick of time. "More shapeshifters," he spat, pulling a shuriken out from his forearm. "Worse, they have a kunai-thrower with them."

Yukika caught her breath, and the rest of the Snow ninja with Huyu looked grim.

"A kunai-thrower?" Sai asked.

"A device loaded with hundreds of kunai which it launches in a steady volley." Yukika's voice was shaking. "You can't dodge it, and any barrier you throw up will be broken down by the sheer number of strikes. Even an ice wall will fracture under a sustained volley. Dotou used it to mow down protestors."

Koyuki nodded. "You remember Sandayuu, my old manager?"

"Sandayuu? I remember him – he carried your eyedrops around so you could cry on cue," Sakura said. "Didn't he – oh!" One hand flew to her mouth, and she exchanged a glance with Naruto. From the way his eyes widened, she knew that he too could see the steep snow bank, the shutters sliding back on the train carriages, and then the rain of kunai, and afterwards the bodies lying tumbled and crumpled, and the brilliant red stains seeping through the white snow.

"That was a kunai-thrower?" Naruto said. "But it killed everyone!"

Huyu nodded to the jounin supporting him. "Yukika, Konoha ninja, leave this to us," he said. "You must get Koyuki-hime away." With a grimace, he drew himself up to his full height, squaring his shoulders with an assertive twist. "By the time we're done, Akatsuki will regret ever meddling with the Hidden Snow. Now, go!"

Yukika spun, forcing Koyuki to turn with her, and started down the corridor. Sakura hung back, uncomfortable with the idea of abandoning Huyu and his handful of jounin, and it was clear that Naruto and Sasuke felt the same.

"What are you waiting for?" Huyu barked. "Don't you dare leave our princess alone!"

"But –"

"He's right," said Itachi. "We will see our mission through. We are here to protect the daimyo. Now get going!"

Sakura shot off, chasing after Yukika and Koyuki, the boys at her side. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw the Snow ninja lining up, flashing through handseals. The last thing she saw was one of them spitting out a suiton, a sheet of water rushing down the corridor towards the Zetsu and their kunai-thrower.

"Sakura-chan!" Shisui sang out, and she snapped her attention back to him. "The wall up ahead – would you do the honours?"

Clenching her fist, she concentrated as much chakra as she could gather in her hand, ignoring the hot ache that spread through her body as she dredged up her dwindling reserves of energy. Her feet stamped hard against the ground, and with a burst of speed, she hurled herself at the wall, smashing through with her fist. The impact travelled up her arm, jarring her knuckles, her wrist, her bones – not quite enough chakra, she thought; her hand would need healing later – and she stood panting as bricks and rubble fell around her and the snowstorm blew in from the night. The wail of the village siren doubled in volume.

"Hold on to me!" Shisui told Koyuki, and wrapping one arm round her waist, he leapt through the gaping hole in the wall. Sakura took a deep breath and followed, plunging down the face of the building. Her knees buckled as she landed, but there was no time to stop. They had to keep running, had to reach the snowbus before the Zetsu had a chance to shut the gates.

"There's fighting in the main road," Sai shouted over the siren.

"Take to the roofs," Itachi ordered, and led off over a wall and up the side of what looked like it might be the village academy. Sakura stumbled as she reached the rooftop, but Naruto reached out and caught her.

"I've got you, Sakura-chan," he said, clasping her hand in his. "You're out of chakra, aren't you?"

"Almost," she panted as they ran after Itachi. "I don't have your stamina."

He grinned at her. "I can carry you, if you like."

She laughed and shook her head.

Despite the wind and the dark and the snow, Itachi had an unerring sense of direction, and as they raced over the roofs of Yukigakure, he made a beeline for where they had left the snowbus, over fences, into back yards, scaling apartment blocks, or hopping from the roof of one little shop to the next. Perhaps a block or so away from where they had left the snowbus, he checked, and the others halted behind him.

"Naruto-kun, is it safe to proceed?"

Naruto let go of Sakura's hand, closing his eyes to concentrate, and presently the skin of his eyelids bled orange. Reaching out with his senses, he focused on the direction of the snowbus. A moment later, he sighed and shook his head. "There's a crowd there – some of them are definitely untransformed Zetsu."

Itachi and Shisui looked at each other. "Best go around them, then," Shisui said, running his fingers through his hair and shaking out the snow. "We'll have to leave on foot. Do you think we can make it to the gate?"

Naruto frowned. "I think it's still fine," he said. "I can't tell if the guards are transformed Zetsu or real people, though, but I can only feel the two of them there."

"We'll risk it," said Itachi.

They set off again, this time dropping down into the back streets where they would be less noticeable. The wind was less fierce down below, and Sakura was grateful for the reprieve. Her legs were burning and sore, and she was not certain how much chakra she had remaining.

Itachi led them in a loop around the place where they had left the snowbus, and then began to work back closer to the gate. Naruto stayed beside him, still in Sage Mode, sensing the presence of other ninja around them and helping to guide the group away from potential trouble. They were almost at the gate when Naruto frowned.

"There are people coming this way," he said. "Down the main road – they must be heading for the gate. They're moving fast."

Itachi peered round the corner of the wall. The main road was empty in both directions as far as he could see in the wind and blowing snow, and the gate was just a few hundred feet away. The guards on duty were alert, made restless by the blaring of the siren. "Can we make it?"

Naruto nodded. "Yes, if we run."

Itachi glanced over his shoulder for a quick head count. "Everyone's here. Good. Be prepared for the guards to resist and take them out if necessary. If we get split up somehow, meet at the mouth of the tunnel. Yukika knows the way out. Shisui, Sasuke, stay with Koyuki-san no matter what." He paused, his gaze flickering from face to face. "Move out."

As they broke from cover, Itachi glanced up the main road once more, and this time picked out the gleam of headlights, coming towards them and growing brighter by the second. In the gatehouse ahead, one of the guards had risen to his feet, and Itachi knew they had only a matter of moments before their way was barred. As he ran, he measured the distance to the gate with his eye, sent chakra humming through his legs, and covered the last fifty or sixty feet in a shunshin. From the corner of his eye he could see Shisui and Koyuki appear an instant later, Naruto following almost as quickly.

Caught by surprise, the guards rushed into the road. Engine roaring, the snowbus bore down on the gate, headlights blindingly bright. From its open door, a dozen Snow ninja came leaping. One of them had a broken jaw, and in the glare of the headlights his face had a translucent greenish hue. He flung himself at the nearest of the guards, and his face seemed to melt, the features blurring and sliding into the unmistakeable grin of a Zetsu. There was a sudden melee in the road, a confusion of blows and jutsu and kunai, where no-one was quite sure which of the Snow ninja were friend or foe, and then the Konoha shinobi had broken through and were disappearing into the night.

Out in the open, beyond the walls of Yukigakure, the blizzard was far stronger. The wind howled across the flat valley floor, driving the snow in thick stinging clouds, making it almost impossible to see more than a few feet ahead. The contours of the road were barely visible, and to each of them the others were vague dark shapes that disappeared and reappeared in the whiteness all around. It was hard to hold a course when the wind came down, buffeting and wailing and tearing at clothes and hair.

Yukika brought up the rear, keeping an eye out for stragglers. To fall behind in a blizzard – For all their brave words, none of the Konoha shinobi understood the dangers of a snowstorm, nor how to survive the bitter winter in the deep north. She alone of their group could recognise the signs of snow sleep and knew how to prevent it.

The wind moaned and sobbed, and she shivered at the sound. On a night such as this the snow girls would be sure to haunt the wind. A prickling feeling crept down her back at the thought, and she wrapped her arms more tightly around herself. If only they had been able to reach their snowbus.

Head bowed against the wind, she toiled on. In the howling moving dark, she sensed rather than heard someone fall ahead, and she looked up. Long dark hair blew in the snow, and for one heart-stopping moment she thought it was a snow girl. Then she saw the plum colour of the kimono and she hurried forward.

"_Hime!_" she exclaimed, dropping to her knees beside Koyuki. "You have to get up, you have to keep moving." She laid one hand on the princess' back. Already a film of ice was forming on her clothes. "_Hime_, you must listen to me."

Glancing up, she realised that she could no longer see the others, and she gave Koyuki a little shake. "_Hime_, get up," she repeated, her voice sharp. It was imperative that Koyuki start moving again, imperative that they catch up with the others. She had known ninja from her village who had wandered off in the snow, become lost and died despite all their years of experience surviving the storms.

There was a presence in the night, someone coming back down the valley road to them. Yukika shook Koyuki again, harder, but received only a moan in response. The returning ninja was closer now – it looked like Shisui, moved like him as well. "Thank goodness you're here," she said as feet crunched on snow before her, and looked up.

Her blood turned cold in her veins. For a long, unmeasurable moment, she could only stare at that mask, and then her heart began to beat again with a massive jolt, racing as though to make up for lost time. She grabbed Koyuki's shoulder, fingers digging in painfully, and shook her as hard as she could. "_Hime_, _hime_, get up now!"

And then Koyuki turned towards her, and in horror she saw how her jaw hung awkwardly, and how green her skin seemed. She did not notice the tanto in Koyuki's hand until she felt a sudden sharp pain in her abdomen, and a brief trickle of something warm and damp.

"I believe I told you once before that Akatsuki does not endure traitors."

Yukika looked up at him, a dark shadow untouched by the falling snow. "My loyalty is to my princess."

"Touching. I hope you'll apologise to her on the other side when your actions lead to her death too."

She made as if to brush the encrusted snow from her sleeves, using the movement to release the fan strapped to her arm. "Even if you kill me, you won't kill Koyuki-hime. Snow Country was only important to you as bait for Naruto-kun, and for the power of the generator."

"Naruto-kun, eh? My, that boy does change people." He took a step towards her, stooping as he extended one hand.

In that one instant's opening, she whipped out her fan and brought the cutting edge down on his wrist. There was no sound as the blade cut into his flesh, no impact at all, and the fan slid straight through his hand as though it were made of water or air. The next moment, he had caught her wrist, his grip very real and solid as he flexed her hand back until her fingers weakened and the fan fell from her grasp.

"Little girls shouldn't play rough," he said, the fingers of his other hand closing on her throat. "They might get more than they bargained for."

Yukika shuddered. From the corner of her eye she could see the creature that had impersonated Koyuki, its face some appalling blend of the princess and a stranger, the plum coloured kimono slowly merging with the flesh of its body. Her heart was thundering, dashing itself against her ribs like a bird beating against a windowpane. Heat surged through her body, making her limbs tingle, and as he pulled her to her feet, she began to writhe and struggle, flailing frantically as she tried to break away or push him off. His grip on her throat tightened, choking her, but she still fought. "Put me down," she panted. "Put me down."

"You forgot the magic word," he said reprovingly, and she bared her teeth at him. "Ah, I like to make people smile. Now, you will tell me everything you know."

Between gasps she managed a short, coughing laugh. "I told you – my loyalty is to my princess. You won't get – anything – from me." She sucked in a breath full of snowflakes.

He made a sound that might have been amusement, or perhaps impatience. "Enough."

His right eye gleamed red, and the three tomoes began to whirl. Yukika's struggles stopped abruptly and she hung limp in his hands. Only her hair moved, as it rippled and blew in the wind, streaming dark into the darkness.

* * *

><p><strong>Those humdrum notes at the end of the chapter<strong>

There isn't much to say this time, truth be told. I have attempted to keep the names of the ninja from Yukigakure snow and winter-themed - Yukika contains the element "yuki", meaning "snow", Huyu means "winter" (the more usual form is "fuyu"), and Izo means "ice". On the other hand, the gate guard Yemon in Chapter Ten, has a name that puns on "mon", meaning "gate", whilst Miyu in this chapter is named for the seiyuu Irino Miyu, who voices Minato as a child in Naruto Shippuuden, amongst other rôles.


	12. The Cat Claws

Next chapter! Thanks, as always, to Just Subliminal for her work as my beta.

* * *

><p>Chapter Twelve<p>

The Cat Claws

On the valley slopes the storm blew dense and white, a mist of powder ice that cut and burned. Blasts of wind buffeted Sakura so that she staggered and stumbled. Her hair whipped across her eyes, and snow beat upon her face, cold and stinging and blinding. In the night, she could just make out the snow-encrusted forms of Naruto and Sasuke, and kept forcing herself after them. When clouds of windswept flakes enveloped them, she hurried even faster, terrified of losing contact.

She was so cold, her limbs aching as she stumbled up the side of the valley. How could the others tell where they were going? The world was invisible in the snow-filled night, and even the faint contours of the road had vanished in the racing tide of icy mist driven across the ground. What if they were just wandering in circles, confused and bewildered by the dark and the wind and the all-encompassing snow?

She raised her hand to push the hair from her eyes, and shattered a film of ice that had formed on her cheek. I'm freezing, she thought. I'm being encased in ice. We're all being frozen, and when the storm is over the ninja from Yukigakure will come out here and find us in blocks of ice.

The ridiculousness of the image made her laugh, quelling the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach. On she went, floundering through the building drifts, hurrying to keep the others in sight, one leg after the other. Her face was numb, and she had to keep brushing ice from her cheek and ear. The blood in her body seemed to beat slower and slower, and it was more of an effort to move. Her teeth chattered.

Just when she felt she could go no more, there was a green gleam in the dark. Her brain was so sluggish with cold that it took her a little while to realise that they had come to the mouth of the tunnel. Exhausted, she staggered forward towards the light, almost falling into the arms of Shisui.

"Good, you've made it too," he said, drawing her into the tunnel, out of the wind. She was shivering violently, chilled to the bone, and he chafed her arms, shaking the frozen snow from her cloak.

"W-who else is m-missing?" she asked, stuttering from cold.

"We're waiting on Yukika. Everyone else is here."

Sakura looked around. Naruto and Sasuke were close by, so coated with ice and snow they were almost walking snowmen, and Sai too. She could see Itachi and Koyuki a little further down the tunnel. The princess' face was pinched, anxious, and her eyes never left the mouth of the tunnel.

"Yukika should be here by now," Shisui said. "I'm going to take a look outside."

Sakura joined the boys, her limbs tingling as she began to thaw and her blood to stir again. Her right hand was throbbing, and she fumbled with her glove, drawing it off with stiff fingers. Her knuckles were bruised and reddened. One of them was slightly swollen.

"That looks sore, Sakura-chan," said Naruto.

She flexed and clenched her hand experimentally. "I've had worse," she said. "I'll heal it later – I'm a bit low on chakra at the moment." She tugged her glove back on. "If there's one good thing about the storm, it's that it keeps my hand iced for me."

Shisui returned, shaking the snow from his hair. "No sign of her," he said. "Damn it, Yukika, hurry up."

"Do we have to wait for her?" Sasuke asked. "She's been a hindrance all along. This is our best chance to get rid of her."

"True," Shisui drawled, "but you're forgetting that she's the only one who knows her way through these tunnels."

Sasuke glanced at Sakura, a small smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "I believe Sakura –" he began, and broke off as a snow-shrouded figure stumbled through the mouth of the tunnel, long dark hair blowing all around her face.

"Yukika!" Shisui exclaimed. "Are you all right?"

She swayed dizzily, her head hanging. Her knees buckled, and she fell forward. Shisui lunged to catch her. "Sakura-chan, get over here!"

Sakura hurried to his side, shrugging out of her backpack's straps as she went. Yukika stood leaning against Shisui, her face obscured by her hair, her long lavender dress stiff with frozen snow, but as Sakura reached them, she straightened and turned towards the girl. In the greenish light of the tunnel, her skin had a sickly pallor to it.

"Are you all right?" Sakura asked, then frowned. Half-hidden by her hair as it was, there was plainly something wrong with Yukika's face. She reached out with one hand to tuck the woman's hair behind one shoulder, and then hesitated.

In that moment, Yukika suddenly hurtled forwards. Sakura had only enough time to see her eyes blazing in her pale face, her blued lips peeled back from her teeth in a silent snarl, and then there was a clawed hand jabbing at her own eyes. She threw herself sideways, feeling a burning pain as Yukika's nails scored a line across her temple and into her scalp. Catching the woman's arm with both hands, she pivoted on her heels and used Yukika's own momentum to flip her over her hip so that she landed hard on her back in the middle of the road. Before she could get up, Sakura punched down into her gut, forcing a hoarse grunting gasp from Yukika as the breath was jolted from her lungs.

Shisui and Itachi were there almost at once, pinning Yukika down by the wrists so that she could not use the cat claws strapped onto her hands again. "What do you think you're doing?" Shisui snarled, his eyes glaring red, and Yukika drew a shrieking, sobbing breath and began to laugh. "Do you – oh. You aren't Yukika, are you?"

Shaking all over from exertion, blood trickling down her cheek, Sakura stared down at the face of the broken-jawed Zetsu. "He was at the gate," she said. "I saw him there."

"Where is Yukika?" Itachi asked, drawing his tanto and pressing the blade to the creature's throat.

The Zetsu grinned. "Where do you think?"

Itachi nodded, and with a quick flick of the wrist cut the Zetsu's throat. Sakura felt suddenly sick, and, wiping the blood from her cheek, looked around for Koyuki. She was staring at the grisly scene with wide, tear-bright eyes, her expression blank, but when Sakura laid a light hand on her shoulder, she flinched, and her face crumpled. Sakura stayed with her, her soft sobs covering the sounds of the Zetsu's breath bubbling through his bloody throat.

Only when the Zetsu went limp did Itachi and Shisui release him. Itachi wiped his blade clean on the Zetsu's body, and sheathed his tanto once more.

"Well," he said, "even without Yukika, I'm sure we can find our way out of here. It will just be longer and slower."

"Without Yukika-neechan?" Naruto asked. "What do you mean? We're not going to leave her behind – we're not leaving anyone else behind again."

Sakura saw Shisui and Itachi exchange a look, but before either of them could say anything, Koyuki spoke. "Naruto," she said, brushing her tears away with the back of her wrist, "Naruto, Yukika isn't coming because she's dead. That shapeshifting _thing_ killed her."

Naruto's eyes widened, his pupils dilating. "She's dead?"

Koyuki nodded. "If she were alive, she would have been the one to join us, not that – that thing." She cast a glance at the body of the Zetsu, her gaze dark with emotion.

"We have to find her," Naruto said. "We have to find her and bury her. We can't leave her to lie in the blizzard." An urgent, insistent note crept into his voice. Sai gave him a worried look.

"We have to move on," said Itachi. "Yukika died to protect Koyuki-san, and to protect _you_, Naruto-kun. To turn back now and risk your capture by Akatsuki would be to make her sacrifice useless."

Sakura, watching Naruto, saw him open his mouth to protest, then, as Sai stepped up and put a hand on his shoulder, he shut it abruptly, as though he had been struck by a sudden realisation. His eyes lowered and he nodded.

Itachi turned to Shisui. "You were up front – surely you remember some of the route you took."

"About that, _nii-san_," Sasuke broke in, "I believe Sakura knows the way out."

"Oh?" Itachi turned to Sakura, one eyebrow raised.

Sakura glanced from Sasuke, who was smiling in a self-satisfied way, to Itachi, meeting his gaze. "I memorised the turns we took."

Shisui grinned. "Lead on, then. The sooner we get away from here the better."

They moved off, Sakura counting the tunnels turning off their road. Though they were sheltered from the wind and the freezing blizzard, the tunnels were still bitterly cold, the walls and roofs covered in frost crystals that gleamed in the pale green light of the ceiling lamps. The limestone stalactites hanging from the roof were encased in ice, one last drop of water suspended frozen from their tips. As they went further in, the air struck cold, and Sakura was soon shivering again. She pulled her cloak tighter around herself, wishing that she could find a way to warm her numbed face.

She was so tired, so deeply tired. Her body was beyond the point of aching now, her legs moving mechanically, knees lifting, feet swinging in an arc, step by step. She longed for rest, for a place where she could sit and sleep out of the cold – the inn at Saruyama – the snug futon – the cabin on the ship – her bed at home, warm around her like arms – but Konoha was over a thousand miles away, and when they emerged from the tunnels they would be back in the teeth of the storm. Where then?

Tunnels yawned on either side of their route, dim green roads leading away through the mountains. Once they passed one from whence a deep booming issued, the distant thunder of an underground waterfall. The sound made the hair rise on the back of Sakura's neck, conjuring up a vision of black water sliding over rocks into unseen deeps below.

On they went, Sakura counting off the turns. The further they went, the more she felt that she was heading into a dream, a dream of unending frost and ice and pale greenish light. A right turn here, a left turn there – on and on, on and on. The labyrinth unrolled before her, an unreal world lit by an unnatural glow that sparkled softly through the prisms on the rough rock walls. The sounds of her companions' running footsteps and breathing and quiet talking echoed off the walls, returning in a hundred hundred susurrations.

She was lightheaded, almost floating, as they came to the road by which they had entered in the snow bus. To their left, they could see the dark mouth of the tunnel where the wind still wailed and the snow blew.

"There," she said, pointing. Her tongue and lips felt clumsy and strangely numb.

Naruto peered at her. "Are you all right, Sakura-chan? You sound kind of funny."

"I'm fine, Naruto." She wrapped her cloak more firmly around herself, tucking her hands into her armpits for extra warmth. "I'm just cold."

"You do look quite blue," Sai chimed in, smiling sweetly. She stared suspiciously at him, unable to decide whether he was mocking her or not.

Shisui dropped a hand on her shoulder, and she started. "You may be cold now, but you're only going to get colder out there. Assuming, of course, that the entrance is not sealed."

They set off up the road, the three Uchiha with their sharingan active. As they drew closer to the mouth of the tunnel, Sasuke shook his head. "There's a barrier," he said. "I doubt we'll be able to pass through it freely."

Koyuki spoke up. "We must have come through it on the way here. How did we pass it then?"

There was a moment of strained silence, and then Itachi replied. "Yukika let us in."

"Oh." Koyuki's face fell. "I see."

At Sakura's side, Naruto raised his head, listening. "I think people are coming," he said, and the ninja swung round, Team Seven automatically falling into a back-to-back _manji_ formation with Koyuki in the middle. Itachi and Shisui stood ready, waiting.

There was the sound of distant barking, echoing and re-echoing, and Sakura reached into her pouch for a small vial of concentrated peppermint oil. If she could just smash it in front of the dogs, the scent should overpower their sensitive noses and they would not be able to keep tracking them.

In a flurry of barking, a small sled team whirled out of the tunnel they had just left, two Snow shinobi standing on the footboards at the back of the sled. As the dogs drew up, tongues lolling, tails high, one of the ninja leaped down from the back of the sled, raising his hands in the air to show that he held nothing in them. "It's Miyu," he said. "I'm here to help you."

"Miyu-niisan!" Naruto's face brightened.

"Thanks for the tea earlier," said Sasuke pleasantly, and Miyu frowned. "You left before the kettle boiled," he said.

Sasuke nodded. "He's the real Miyu."

"Who's your companion?" Shisui asked.

"This is Izo," Miyu said. "He works directly for Huyu-sama."

Sakura took a closer look at the second ninja, still leaning on the handlebar across the back of the sled. Hadn't she met him already? There must be some way she could verify that he was indeed a real Snow ninja and not just a fake.

As though he sensed her eyes on him, he turned and smiled at her. "I offered to take you ice-skating and dog sledding, didn't I?"

She nodded. "That's right."

Some of the tension in the air diminished, then Itachi spoke. "Yukika is dead."

Sakura's gaze darted back to Miyu. His face tightened momentarily, and his fingers curled in on themselves. "I know." He breathed out, a long ragged breath. "We found her body, and the body of the thing that killed her."

Naruto started forward. "Where is she now? You didn't leave her?"

Miyu looked at him strangely. "Of course not. I had her taken back to the village by one of the others."

Behind her, Sakura felt rather than heard Koyuki sigh and sag a little. Of course. She had not considered how unhappy Koyuki must have been at abandoning Yukika; she was no longer the actress who could not weep without her eyedrops, not even for Sandayuu. She had changed, all because of Naruto, Sakura thought, and she looked at her teammate. Her head felt strange, light and floating, as though it were a helium balloon tugging at the string that kept it tethered to the ground, and she found herself focusing on small details – the way the light fell on his cheek, the bright colour of his hair, the texture of his jumpsuit. There was a faint throbbing in her temples.

Miyu was talking again, and with an effort of will Sakura forced her attention back to him. "– can't stay here," he was saying. "There may be pursuit even now."

"So how do we pass through the barrier?" Shisui asked.

"We don't, not here. Negotiating the mountain road in this weather would be suicide. Instead, there's a route we can take that will bring us out much lower down the mountain, below the heaviest snow. It will also make it impossible for the shapeshifters to follow us."

"What is it?" Shisui looked sceptical.

"An underground river. There's only one small ferry boat. The jetty isn't far away."

"Your dogs?"

"The boat is designed to carry two sled teams," Izo said. "We'll fit quite comfortably."

Itachi and Shisui exchanged a glance. "Lead on, then," Itachi said. "The more distance we can put between the daimyo and the Zetsu the better."

Wearily, Sakura tightened the shoulder straps of her knapsack once more. Her hands were clumsy, and her head was beginning to pound. That feeling of buoyancy, of drifting like thistledown on a breeze, had vanished, leaving her numb. She was so tired it was an effort to start moving again, and as they set off, she stumbled, tripping over her own feet. Sasuke caught her by the elbow.

"Watch yourself," he said.

She nodded, squaring her shoulders, and strode forward, acutely aware that he was still watching her. The back of her neck prickled from the pressure of his gaze, but she kept going, following Koyuki and Sai back along the road.

In the lead, the sled dogs trotted along, silent now, their breath puffing and steaming from their open jaws, their nails clicking on the hard surface of the road. Izo ran behind the sled, giving the dogs short, one word commands. Behind him came Miyu, Itachi and Shisui. With Koyuki safe in the middle of the group, Team Seven brought up the rear, Naruto using Sage Mode to check for pursuit as they turned back down a side tunnel.

In contrast to the broad, well-lit tunnels with the snowbus roads, this was a narrow passage hewn from the rock, with dim lights set at intervals in the ceiling. At first it travelled straight, on a slight downward slope, but then it rounded an outcrop of rock and dropped steeply, plunging down, down, down through a series of hairpin bends. Deeper and deeper it went, the air no longer striking cold, the walls bare of ice.

The roof began to lower, and the limestone walls closed in until there was barely enough room for the sled. To Sasuke it was not a good place, so narrow that there would be scarcely enough space to turn and manoeuvre. It would be so easy to be trapped down here, in this dim, tight corridor. Could they trust Miyu and this Izo? Did Miyu and Izo trust them? After all, they had Koyuki, the daimyo, with them, and Yukika had been killed. It could hardly look more like an attempted abduction even if they had been trying. His breath came quicker and he trod lighter, carrying himself tense and ready.

His sharingan had activated itself instinctively, and his eyes were taking in every little detail, from the translucent crystals growing on the surface of the rock surrounding them to the dry grit on the road, from Itachi's tight shoulders – in pain again, and trying to hide it – to the way Sakura was swaying as she walked. There was something wrong with her, something more than exhaustion. She looked oddly uncoordinated – what had the Zetsu done to her? Scratched her cheek with the cat claws, yes, but what else?

His eyes narrowed. Cat claws, he thought, and a picture slid into his mind of Yukika kneeling on the tatami mats at the inn, her ninja tools spread out before her – cat claws, a razor-bladed fan, sharpened hair sticks, and a vial of poison.

Almost unconsciously, he lengthened his stride, drawing up on Sakura. As he came closer, she looked around. Her face was pallid, and her skin looked clammy.

"Sakura," he said softly, "was there anything on the cat claws?"

She shook her head. "I don't know." Her words were slightly slurred, as though her tongue were fumbling and clumsy.

"Yukika used poison – I saw it."

She shrugged. "Whatever it was, I doubt it was as dangerous as Sasori's poisons."

He frowned. "You need to take an antidote."

"I will, when we've reached this boat."

"You're falling over your own feet, Sakura."

She scoffed, and he felt a hot flash of irritation. "You are," he said. "If we're ambushed, you're going to be a liability."

Her expression changed, her eyes widening for a moment, and then her jaw set stubbornly. "I'm fine, Sasuke-kun," she said, biting out each word, and turned away.

Talking to her when she looked like that was always pointless, so Sasuke fell back, scowling. She _has_ been poisoned, he thought, and she knows it. Why does she have to be so stupidly reckless? It never ends well – pinned to a tree by a vice of sand, skewered through the stomach by a poisoned sword, wiped out by one of Naruto's chakra tails – I could go on and on – and it always results in her being injured and needing to be saved. Why won't she just _see_ that she should be careful, that she can't tackle people head-on? Every time I tell her, she takes it as an insult to her damn pride – like I'm telling her she's useless – She isn't, not anymore … but if she goes on like this she's going to get herself killed.

He glared at the back of her head, as though the ferocity and power of his gaze would somehow drill his thoughts into her own mind, but she walked on, shoulders thrown back, head lifted, her whole body radiating an offended hauteur.

The air currents in the narrow tunnel changed, a sudden cold, moist breeze striking Sasuke's face, and from the way their footsteps echoed, he guessed they must be approaching a more open stretch of tunnel. There was a rushing sound, water flowing rapidly, and he realised they were nearly at the river Miyu had spoken of. If they were being led into an ambush, now would be the time. He drew himself up, one hand resting on his shuriken holster, sharingan gleaming.

The little group emerged from the passageway, and Sasuke heard Sakura gasp. His own breath caught as he looked around, staring in amazement at the immense cavern. The floor was studded with pillars of living stone, some thin as needles, others massive columns. Their surfaces were smooth, glistening damply in the beams of the floodlights set into the walls and floor, and many of them were striated with bands of marginally lighter and darker stone. They stretched away the length and breadth of the cave, all the way to the bank of the river. Overhead, stalactites hung from the ceiling, row upon row, fringes of suspended limestone. It was eerie and beautiful, a strange landscape of growing rock through which the black river ran.

"Here we are," said Izo, the echoes of his voice running away up into the ceiling. "The ferry is moored at the slip behind the big column of stone." He pointed, and the Konoha shinobi realised that what they had first thought was a strange rock formation was the bow of the ferry.

"After you," said Shisui. "Those dogs must take a while to load."

Chuckling, Izo shook his head. "They're used to it."

The dogs trotted right up the apron ramp and onto the open deck without a fuss, settling down on the port side while Izo lashed the sled securely in place. The ninja followed, and Miyu cast off. As the little ferry drifted out into the main stream, he and Izo picked up a pole each from where they were stowed along the railings of the deck, and used them to punt the boat away from the bank. The current caught it, and the ferry gained speed.

"We'll slip along quietly," Miyu said, "not using the engine, not until we're further along. Don't want to alert any pursuit to our escape route. With any luck, it will look to the shapeshifters as though you've vanished into thin air."

Sakura was only half listening to him. She had found herself a seat against the side of the boat and was sitting with her head on her knees, feeling queasy and sweaty and out of breath. Her face and hands were almost numb, and when she tried to mould chakra, her control was erratic. Clearly poison, but which one? The idea of asking the Snow ninja for help galled her; besides, they might be friendly enough at present, but if they knew that she was poisoned, Itachi was ill, and Sai's arm was badly burned – Oh God, when had she grown so suspicious of everyone? Huyu and his jounin had sacrificed themselves in order for her team to get away with Koyuki. They had trusted them with their lives – but this Miyu had not been there, and was a friend of Yukika's, and Yukika was dead – killed by the same Zetsu who had tried to kill _her_ –

A sudden pang of nausea struck her, rising up through her stomach to her throat, and she leaned over the side of the boat and was sick. She was dimly aware of someone joining her and gathering her hair up, pulling it clear of her face. A soft fragrance filled her nostrils – Koyuki, she realised, and felt relieved that it was the only other woman in their party who was kneeling with her.

Once she was done, she hung over the side of the boat a moment longer, wheezing, and then straightened up with some difficulty. Koyuki was watching her gravely, and she could feel the prickling of the others' eyes on her. Ignoring them, she turned to Koyuki. The princess reached into her kimono sleeves and pulled out a handkerchief.

"Hold still," she said, and dabbed at Sakura's mouth and chin, wiping up the spittle and bile.

Sakura waited until she was done before asking the question. "Koyuki-san," she began, her breath wheezing audibly, "what sort of poison did Yukika use?"

Koyuki's eyes dilated, and a look of horror flashed across her face. "She used," she began, and then swallowed. "She used – _fugu_," she managed. "Oh, Sakura, I am so, so sorry."

Sakura sat back, her heart like a lump of ice in her chest. _Fugu_, she thought, stunned. The poison for which there was no antidote. Her mind began to rattle off the facts she had drilled whilst studying toxicology under Shizune. Shuts down the voluntary muscles, stops breathing, causes irregular heartbeat and slow paralysis whilst the patient remains fully conscious. Can only be cured by a team of med-nin providing both cardiac and respiratory support whilst the patient's body metabolises the poison; even then survival rate is low.

I'm going to die.

Her fingers curled in on themselves, her nails cutting into the palms of her hands. She was shaking all over, shaking with fear or anger or shock or some mixture of all three. She was going to die on this stupid, horrible mission, where everything was going wrong, all thanks to Yukika who had used _fugu_, _fugu_ of all poisons, the one expressly forbidden to those guarding a daimyo in case of accidents. And if she died, then Itachi would fall sick again and probably die too, and Sai's arm would scar and suppurate and turn gangrenous, and Shisui's bite wound might fester – thank you, Yukika, for that one too, she thought bitterly – and one by one they would all drop, leaving just Naruto and Sasuke as pickings for Madara. She could not let that happen – she _would_ _not_ let it happen.

Her resolve hardening, she unclenched her hands, dismissing the stinging of her palms, and reached into her pink knapsack, retrieving her neatly folded pile of gauze bandages, and a little plastic bottle, which she held up to the light so that she could inspect the contents. It was perhaps two-thirds full of a dark slurry so thick that when she poured it out it oozed onto the gauze, more like a runny paste than a liquid.

"Ew," said Naruto's voice, and she looked up to see him standing over her. "What is that?"

"A poultice," she said, folding the bandage in half. "Activated charcoal makes a good antidote." Though that's generally for ingested poison, she thought.

"You've been poisoned, Sakura-chan?" he asked, crouching down at her side. To her surprise he did not raise his voice in panic and proclaim to the world at large that she had been poisoned. "Is there anything I can do?"

She looked up at him, meeting his eyes, and felt a jolt in her belly. His gaze was very blue and very direct, and concern was written into every line of his face. This Naruto would actually listen to her, she thought, listen to her and do what she told him. She glanced at Koyuki, and saw she too was watching her intently.

"The poison is fast-acting," she said, talking slowly and carefully so that her words came out clearly and with little slurring. "Once it has a proper hold, it's going to paralyse me, and make it difficult for me to breathe and speak. It only lasts a few hours, though, and I should be all right again by this time tomorrow."

From the corner of her eye she could see Koyuki look down, hiding her expression. The princess knew that she was lying through her teeth, that she probably wouldn't make it to the next day, but she still had a chance. By herself, it was a slim chance, entirely dependent on the poultice absorbing enough of the poison. If only one of the others were a medic – if they could just keep her breathing and her heart rate steady as the poison took hold –

She lifted the poultice, but her hands were clumsy, and it slipped through her fingers. Before it fell and splattered everywhere, Naruto caught it.

"Let me do it," he said. "Where were you going to put it?"

"Oh," she said, the sound more a wheeze than a word. "On the cut on my face."

Koyuki spoke up. "You hold it in place, Naruto," she said firmly. "I'll stick it down with some adhesive tape."

Sakura sat still as they worked, her eyes shut, her lips parted as she struggled for air. Her throat felt swollen and she was having trouble swallowing. When she opened her eyes, she saw Sasuke watching her, not troubling to hide his worry. Yes, she thought miserably, you were right. I am a liability now.

It was as though she were thirteen again, and Sasuke was standing before her, looking vaguely uncomfortable as he explained that his family was pulling him out of their team temporarily, just while Naruto was away with Jiraiya. She had stood there and nodded quietly as he told her that it was because he was learning more about the sharingan, and only his clan could teach him that, but in the silences between her soft questions and his curt answers she could hear the real reasons – the curse seal that she had failed to defend him from, and her own inadequacy. Naruto was a training partner worthy of Sasuke, whereas she was a kunoichi with no special talents – the only member of Team Seven not to progress to the final rounds of the chuunin exams – the one who was not as strong, not as quick, not as good, the one that the boys always had to protect. She had sworn to become stronger, and yet three years later here she was, useless, poisoned and in need of protection.

Tears pricked at the back of her eyes, and she let her lids fall once more. This is not the time for self-pity, she told herself. You have to survive this. You have to make it through. Without you, this team will fall apart. You aren't a liability. You aren't useless. You're what keeps the others alive.

A hand settled on her shoulder, squeezed gently, and she knew it was Naruto. Opening her eyes, she looked up at his anxious face and smiled.

"I'll be all right, Naruto," she wheezed. "Don't worry."

He searched her face, his gaze intent, almost staring, as though he did not believe her. His observation made her want to squirm, made her wonder if her smile seemed forced or was faltering, but then he nodded. "Of course you will," he said, beaming. "That's my Sakura-chan."

There was the sound of footsteps on the deck, and the two of them looked round to see Itachi standing over them, his eyes scrutinising Sakura inch by inch. "What poison is it, Sakura?"

She opened her mouth and shut it again, unable to lie in the face of that penetrating gaze, but unwilling – afraid, even – to tell him the truth. He might leave her to die, just as they had left Yamato and Yukika, just as Shisui had ordered them to leave Itachi himself. She tried to swallow, and found she could not.

"It's _fugu_," said Koyuki, and Itachi's eyes flicked her way.

"_Fugu_?" said Naruto, a little too loudly, and Sakura knew that everyone on the little ferry boat must have heard. "What's that?"

"Pufferfish poison," Itachi told him. "It can be fatal." He turned back to Sakura. "How good are your chances, do you think?"

"Better than most," she managed. Her breath was very short, whistling audibly each time she inhaled, and her heart was beating harder and harder, pounding frantically inside her ribs. She did not want to look at Naruto. "I need – some way of – stabilising my breathing – and my heart. Can't do it myself – no chakra control."

Itachi sank down beside her. "Can you tell me what to do?"

"You need – excellent chakra control – for medical techniques."

He nodded. "And for genjutsu," he said quietly.

"Ah." She risked a sidelong glance at Naruto. He looked stunned, his eyes huge and staring. She turned quickly back to Itachi. "I can explain – what to do."

Izo, sitting with the dogs, stood up. "I can heal you," he said. "I have medical experience."

A wave of relief washed over Sakura, and the panicked racing of her heart slowed.

Miyu, at the tiller, gave Izo a sceptical look. "You're a _vet_," he said.

Izo shrugged. "Human or animal, we're much the same on the inside." Giving the dogs a hand signal to stay, he started down the deck. "Sakura-san, would you be willing to let me help you?"

"He's not even a vet, he's a vet-in-training," said Miyu warningly.

"Yes," Sakura wheezed. "You may, Izo-san." She paused, labouring for breath. "Do you know – the shōsen jutsu?"

He nodded, kneeling beside her. Koyuki gave way for him, moving to sit with Sai and Shisui, her face anxious. "I'm still not adept at it, though."

"That – doesn't matter. Use it – on my lungs – and on my heart." Her airways felt swollen, and her tongue was so heavy she could hardly move it. "I may not – be able to speak – much longer."

She watched as Izo made the seals for the technique, chakra enveloping his hands, and then stretched his palms out above her chest. The chakra sank through her skin, flowing into her lungs, around and through her heart, cool and soothing. Beside her, Itachi watched keenly, his sharingan capturing every last detail; on her other side, Naruto sat fretting, his emotions racing across his face, plain for all to see – anxiety, anger, fear, and one that looked like utter desolation but was also something more. It made her want to reach out and find his hand and give it a squeeze to reassure him, and to her surprise, she did. As her hand closed on his, Naruto looked startled, but then he locked his fingers through hers, holding tight. His grip was stronger than she had imagined, but there was comfort in the strength and firmness of his hand.

"You'll make it, Sakura-chan," he said quietly. "You'll be all right."

They sat in silence as the ferry slipped down the dark river. The walls of the immense cavern had closed in completely on one side, a tall, fissured rockface towering above them, reaching into darkness overhead. On the other shore, there was a narrowing strip of pebbled beach which ended in a limestone crag. As they rounded the crag, they went into shadow, the light cast by the floodlights at the ferry slip cut off by the jutting rock. Only the ghostly glow of Izo's shōsen jutsu remained. By the faint flickering of its light, they could dimly glimpse the strange formations growing from the rocks hemming them in, stalactites dripping from overhangs, stretches of fluted yellow limestone, or places where it seemed an entire slab of rock had melted and seeped down the wall in great flat pancakes.

Presently Izo ended the jutsu and sat back, rubbing sweat from his forehead. "I'm sorry," he said. "I don't have the chakra control to keep it up for longer."

Sakura shook her head. "You've helped," she said, struggling not to slur her words. "Thank you." Her breath was easier, though her heart still thundered madly, unevenly, and a creeping numbness was spreading through her body. She was afraid, more afraid than she had thought. Dying of suffocation in the dark, far from home – She wanted her parents, wanted to feel her mother's arms around her, holding her safe and close. She wanted to see her parents again, see Ino and Tsunade and Shizune as well. Tears stung her eyes, threatening to spill over, and she bit her lip. She had to be strong. She had to live. Without her – without her – her team would die, and Naruto and Sasuke would be captured.

Her fingers tightened on Naruto's, almost convulsively, and he squeezed her hand in return, murmuring reassurances.

"You'll be fine," he said. "You're really good at treating poisons. You made that antidote for Kankurou when nobody else could. You've got an antidote on that poultry bandage thing – you'll be fine." He grinned. "Though you med-nin have some ridiculous names for things. Why'd you name a plaster after a chicken?"

"It's a _poultice_, Naruto." In the pitch darkness, he could not see her face, but she sounded amused.

"Yeah, whatever. It still sounds like some fancy chicken," he said, and was rewarded by a weak _hnh_. Encouraged, he went on. "Anyway, your fancy chicken bandage will do whatever it's supposed to do and you'll be fine in a while. And Izo is taking care of you, even though he's a vet, but Kiba told me that his sister is a vet and has helped patch him up sometimes, not when he needed to go to hospital, of course, but for other things, and Kiba doesn't look deformed in any way and he's always wild and really energetic. And then there's Akamaru, as well. You remember how tiny he was? Well, vets must be _really_ good if Kiba's sister could make Akamaru grow into such a big dog – I mean he used to ride around on top of Kiba's head and now he's as big as a small horse. So anyway, Izo is a vet too, so he knows what he's doing, I guess. But you also know how to treat poison so you can tell him what to do too, and between the two of you, you'll be all right. You'll –"

Sakura's hand suddenly clenched tight on his, and she began to flail in the dark, her limbs spasming, her whole body shaking uncontrollably.

"Sakura-chan!"

Light flickered again in the pitch darkness, the faint glow of focused chakra illuminating Sakura as she shuddered and jerked. Her head rolled back, her chin jolting, and her eyes were wide, pupils shrinking and dilating as her body convulsed. Spit ran from the side of her mouth. Horrified, Naruto tried to hold her down, but she was moving too violently, too frantically, thrashing in his arms.

"Stop, Sakura-chan! Stop it! Sakura-chan!"

"Let her go!" Izo's voice cut across Naruto's panic. "You'll only hurt her more." He half-shouldered Naruto to one side, and brought his hands, enveloped in a nimbus of chakra, down above Sakura's chest. "Put something soft under her head, but don't restrain her."

"What's going on?" It was Sasuke, his sharingan glaring through the dark. His voice changed, sharpening as he saw Izo bent over the flailing Sakura. "What are you doing to her?"

"Stopping her convulsions," Izo ground out through gritted teeth, his forehead knotted and creased, chakra flowing from his hands.

Sasuke opened his mouth, but Itachi raised one hand. "Let him concentrate, Sasuke."

To the watching boys, it seemed like an eternity before Sakura stopped shuddering, her limbs relaxing and her body slumping back against the seat. Her eyes were still open, but she looked dazed, and her breath was shallow. Izo's face was grim.

"It's no good," he said, letting the jutsu wink out. The darkness that followed was filled with the sound of running water and Sakura's painful, laboured wheezes.

"What do you mean?" Sasuke's voice fell flat into the quiet.

There was a sick feeling in the pit of Naruto's stomach as he waited for Izo's answer. His palms prickled uncomfortably, and he rubbed his hands almost savagely against his pants leg, trying to rid them of that sensation.

"The final stages of _fugu_ poisoning are convulsions, followed by a coma, and then death," said Izo quietly. "The poison has spread throughout her whole body. There's nothing I can do any longer, except keep her breathing, and try to keep her heart stable."

Naruto's voice was hoarse as he spoke. "Will – will she live?"

Izo did not reply.

Sakura's breathing continued, weak, rasping. To Naruto, it was such a small sound, such a small, small sound. He reached for her hand again, clasped it in both of his, and lifted it to his forehead. It felt boneless in his grip, as though the life had already gone out of it, and his heart constricted painfully.

Sakura-chan, Sakura-chan, don't go – I can't let you go – I won't let you go. You have to live. I love you, Sakura-chan, and I want to tell you that. You can't die, Sakura-chan. You can't. If I could just give you some of my chakra, like I did for Gaara – if I could do _something_ – I hate sitting and watching, I hate not being able to help you. Oh, Sakura-chan!

His hands tightened on hers, and he crushed his eyes shut until lights began to explode behind his lids. Suddenly, Sakura's fingers twitched, and his eyes flew open automatically, even though there was nothing he could see in the impenetrable blackness of the river tunnel. Clasped between his hands, her fingers closed on his for a moment, and then slackened as the thin sound of her breathing faded and went out.

* * *

><p><strong>Those pesky notes again<strong>

Pufferfish (or _fugu_) poison is genuinely a poison for which there is no known antidote. It's a neurotoxin, found not only in pufferfish, but also in octopus and the critically endangered Harlequin toads of South America. Because of the potency of the toxin - it can kill within an hour - _fugu_ is the one dish that the emperor of Japan is not permitted to eat, in case of accidents in the preparation. On the other hand, if the victim makes it through the first twenty-four hours, they will likely survive.

As for the underground river still running despite it being very definitely wintery outside, cave systems tend to have much more stable and consistent temperatures than the surface, being less directly affected by wind and rain and snow and sun. Look up the Dragon's Breath Cave, found under the Kalahari desert as an example - burning sun on the surface, a mighty underground lake below. (Thank you, David Attenborough!) Also, the deeper the cave, the higher the geothermal gradient. That is, the deeper you go, the closer to the earth's molten boiling core you get, and so the warmer the temperature becomes, rising by 25ºC for every kilometre you go down. Our fugitives may not be quite that deep below the earth, but they are far enough down for the river to remain ice free.


	13. Bad News

So, with Yukika dead and Sakura poisoned and not breathing, I present you with the next chapter.

Thank you to Just Subliminal, and an especial thanks for a very speedy turn-around time on beta-ing this chapter. Thanks also to everyone who has reviewed and favorited this story so far - I really appreciate the feedback!

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><p>Chapter Thirteen<p>

Bad News

As the first grey light of dawn filtered through the air, the docks of Mizushima began to stir. Sailors rolled out of their bunks and emerged on deck, muzzy with sleep as they set about lighting stoves and slopping down the decks with pails of saltwater. Harbour seals lay huddled together for warmth on the jetties, occasionally scratching their sleek bodies with their flippers or grunting at their neighbours, while the pelicans shuffled and fluffed up their feathers, waiting for the sunrise. Up at the warehouses, longshoremen started to load the pony carts with barrels of Kasenshiki beer and crates of smoked fish.

It was going to be a clear day. The eastern horizon brightened slowly, the darkness becoming more grey, and then starting to flush with colour, first blue, then mauve, then a creeping pale pink, which lightened to gold as the sun slid over the hilltops. The first level rays touched the roofs of the warehouses, caught on the furled sails of the ships lying at anchor in the port and made them shine a dazzling white.

Once each cart was fully loaded, the leader of each team of longshoremen took the pony by the bridle and led it down the road to the shipping port, with the rest of the team following. At the dock, the carts went their separate ways, each heading to the wharf where the merchant ship whose load they carried was berthed. Most of the ships in harbour carried the Water Country ensign, but there were a handful of foreign merchantmen at anchor, mostly from Lightning Country.

Two carts drew up on the wharf beside a tramp ship from Lightning, and the longshoremen started to offload the cargo of beer, crated fish roe, scallops, sea urchins and sweetened dried kelp. As they worked, the team leader ran up the gangplank and onto the deck.

"Captain to sign for the delivery," he said. "Where is he?"

One of the crew paused for a moment from tightening the braces and jerked his head down the deck. "Aft," he said tersely.

The longshoreman nodded, and made his way down the deck, ducking and weaving around the crew on morning watch. The captain was hard to miss, a big burly man with dark skin and a shock of pale hair, who moved as lightly as cat despite his size.

"Yamato," he said, as the longshoreman approached. "You have all the cargo? Good. The sooner it's loaded, the sooner we can get underway."

Yamato nodded, holding out a clipboard and pen. "Sign here, please, sir, for the delivery."

The captain grunted and scribbled a signature. "Use the forward hold for stowing the cargo." As he handed the clipboard back, he lowered his voice. "The crew will be preparing to cast off whilst you complete the loading. Tell your lot to stay in the hold when they bring the last crates on board. The port authorities caught a shinobi posing as a refugee last night when he tried to board another ship. It wasn't pretty."

"Thank you, D-san," Yamato said. "We're very grateful."

The captain shrugged. "Best get on with the loading. The sooner we can put to sea the sooner we'll be away from this damned city."

Clipboard tucked under his arm, Yamato rejoined the rest of his team on shore. As he stepped off the gangplank, he noticed a harbour watchman in a high-collared uniform strolling towards the wharf, crossbow cocked, bolt nocked on the string. "The cargo's to be stowed in the forward hold," he said in his best Water Country accent, pitching his voice just loud enough for the watchman to hear. "Best work quickly – there's a lot of ships waiting to be loaded."

There were a few quizzical looks, and Kohaku opened her mouth to speak – probably to argue, Yamato thought – but Sai, beside her, gave her a nudge in the ribs and nodded in the direction of the watchman. Kohaku's mouth snapped shut like a trap and she hoisted a crate with Sai instead.

"Stay below deck," Yamato told them as they passed him. "Help with the stowing of the cargo."

They nodded, and he stepped aside to let them by, watching them board the ship with a sense of relief. That was the youngsters safe – and Kohaku out of the way, where she could not object to his orders and possibly give the game away. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the watchman approaching.

"Mornin'," he grunted as the man stopped beside the cart. The pony lifted its head and looked at the newcomer, but when no bread or apples were forthcoming, it cocked a hindleg and went back to dozing in the morning sunshine.

"Morning." The watchman hefted his crossbow. "I see you're a new team on the docks."

"Refugees," Yamato said, scribbling a quick tally of crates stowed on his clipboard. That was Natsuki and Akarui, the Kumogakure chuunin, done and safely onboard; Iwashi and Kaito had just one last crate left. "We arrived two nights ago."

"Refugees, eh? Where from?"

Yamato looked up from his clipboard. "A place that doesn't exist any more," he said. "Destroyed by those damn ninja."

"Tell me about it," said the guard. "There's a tree growing out of the roof of the town hall now, thanks to the ninja."

Not again, Yamato thought. Every time someone mentioned ninja in Mizushima, the damn town hall was brought up. Thanks to that tree, he was the most wanted man in the Water Country.

"A tree," he said, flatly. Then: "Careful with that crate – it's got breakables!"

"Yeah, a tree," said the watchman, apparently oblivious to the sudden incompetence of the team of longshoremen. "Not just one, actually. A whole forest of them out one wall as well."

"Sounds like a disaster. No, no, the _other_ way up!" Yamato gave an exasperated sigh. "Excuse me, sir," he said, starting towards his team, "I need to sort this –"

He stopped abruptly as the point of the crossbow bolt pricked his chest.

"You aren't going anywhere," said the watchman. "I know your face, ninja."

Yamato gave him a blank look. "If that's a joke, it's not very funny."

"It's no joke." The watchman grinned. "Does the name Tadashi ring a bell? No? Well, you might not remember me, but I remember you. You were with those kids, pinkie, blondie, and the Uchiha, in the back alley behind my apartment." He pressed the crossbow harder against Yamato. "And if you were a refugee, you'd be pissing yourself with terror right now – but you aren't. It's over, ninja."

Ah, yes, Yamato thought. The one Sakura had knocked out when he threatened Sasuke.

Never taking his eyes from Yamato's, Tadashi slowly released the safety catch on the crossbow, then raised one hand to the side of his neck. "Now, call the Uchiha kid back up from below deck. We still need him."

From the corner of his eye, Yamato could see Iwashi and Kaito setting down their crate and starting toward him and Tadashi. It would be simple enough for one of them to knock the watchman out –

"Town Hall, ninja on Wharf Twenty-Three confirmed. Over." Tadashi smirked, letting his fingers fall from the little radio transmitter attached to the inside of his collar. Iwashi and Kaito stopped dead in their tracks. "Don't think you can try anything funny, ninja," he said. "Back-up is coming. Now, get me the Uchiha kid."

"You heard him," said Yamato to Iwashi. "Get Sai."

Iwashi folded his arms. "I ain't taking orders from no stinking shinobi."

Tadashi frowned. "Then take them from me, and get the boy."

"What's the boy got to do with you?" Kaito asked.

"That's not your business," snapped Tadashi. "If you don't get him for me now, you're fired."

"What the hell is this delay?" roared the captain from the deck. Akarui hovered behind him. "Stop lollygagging and get on with loading! This ship's got to sail shortly!"

"This man here is an imposter," Tadashi shouted, pushing the end of the crossbow harder into Yamato's chest. His finger quivered on the trigger. "He's a ninja."

The captain glowered down at them. "If he's a ninja, why's the crossbow still in your hands and not in his?"

Tadashi's face contorted in frustration and rage, and in that split-second before he pulled the trigger, Yamato's hands flew together in the snake seal. The crossbow fired, a shaft of wood erupted from Yamato's breastbone, the bolt lodging in it, and then the planking beneath their feet buckled as columns of wood coiled up like vines, lashing themselves around Tadashi and pinioning his arms to his sides. He toppled over in front of the pony's hooves with a howl of outrage. The pony pricked its ears, looked down at him, then sighed and let its head droop once more.

"Get on board, get on board now!" D bellowed, and the three shinobi sprang to obey. There were more watchmen running down the wharf towards them. "Cast off!"

A crossbow bolt whizzed through the air and embedded itself with a thunk in the planking beside his hand. D cursed, and shook a kunai out of one sleeve, lightning-natured chakra crackling over the blade. With a flick of his wrist, he sliced through the mooring rope. "Get us underway!" he yelled.

There was a volley of crossbow bolts, and the crew ducked as they frantically worked the sails. One struck home through Iwashi's foot, pinning him to the deck.

"Suiton users, get us a wave!" D ran down to the helm. "Get us out of here before those rats swarm aboard!"

Yamato and Kaito flew through a series of handseals, unleashing a wall of water at the ship's stern. It mounted up and up, lifting the tramp ship on its crest, and the upturned faces of the harbour watchmen dropped away beneath them. Then it broke, curling over on itself and surging forward, carrying the ship across the bay.

"Hard-a-port!" D bellowed, spinning the helm to the right. "Turn the wave – turn the wave left!"

Yamato crossed his outstretched hands one over the other, and the wave curved round, sweeping them towards the mouth of the bay. Kaito watched with his mouth open. "Where did you learn that?"

"It's the second Hokage's technique," Yamato said through gritted teeth. Directing the wave was far harder than he had imagined. Beads of sweat were forming at his temples as he struggled to keep the wall of water rolling.

"Almost there!" called D. "Keep it up, Yamato!"

The jutting tip of the peninsula loomed on their left, the water-stained cliffs rearing up grim against the bright sky. Foamy waves built up on the submerged sandbanks at their feet, only to dash themselves to spray on the rocks with thunderous cracks, spume flying high in the air. At the tiller, D sang out directions once more. "Turn us right, Yamato! Just enough to get us round these shoals!"

Grunting from the effort, Yamato recrossed his hands, and the ship swung out to starboard, borne on the last humpbacked swell of the wave as it edged round the sandbanks and into the deep channel that led out to open water. With a shuddering sigh, Yamato let his arms fall.

"Nicely done," said D. "Never left port so quickly in my life."

"That's Yamato-taichou for you," Iwashi said. He had pulled the bolt from his foot, and was staunching the flow of blood with a strip torn from one of the bandages on his arms. "One of Konoha's best."

"I'll say," said Kaito. He still looked astonished.

Yamato straightened his shoulders. "Well, at least we're free of Mizushima." He looked back at the bay. "Can't say I'd ever want to visit again. Now I think it's time to send a report to HQ. Where is Sai?"

"Below deck, I think," said Akarui. "Shall I fetch him for you, taichou?"

Yamato shook his head. "No need. I'll find him myself."

Sai was indeed below deck, in the forward hold with the stowed cargo. The only member of Team Kakashi to actually obey orders, Yamato thought, smiling wryly as he approached the boy. Had he been left with any of the other three, chances were good that they'd have been in the thick of things on shore, and that wharf would have been spectacularly wrecked – splintered to pieces by Sakura, or set alight by Sasuke, or great holes punched in it by Naruto's rasengan. Those kids … Where were they now? Were they safe? Sai had said they were with Itachi and Shisui, and had made it to the rendezvous point, but after that? Had they headed back to Headquarters? He hoped they had – it would have been logical, to get Naruto and Sasuke both to safety. He was more bothered than he cared to admit about Sasuke. Who was after him? That girl Sasuke had spoken about – glasses and red hair – who was she? Who did she work for? Akatsuki? Orochimaru? Someone else?

He shook his head. Time enough to puzzle it out later. For now, he simply needed to report back to the Alliance with the news that their party had split.

"Sai," he said, and the boy jumped, swinging round. Odd. He'd never caught Sai off-guard before, but then again, he'd never seen Sai so exhausted before. All the days of running and fighting and hiding were taking their toll. In the dim light of the hold, the boy's skin was paler than usual, almost waxy. "Ah, I didn't mean to startle you like that. I just need you to send a message to the Alliance HQ."

"Yes, taichou." Sai reached inside his jacket and retrieved his scroll case. As he slid it open, a sudden thought struck Yamato.

"Have you written to Danzō?"

Sai looked up from unscrewing the lid from his ink bottle, a surprised look in his eyes. "No, taichou," he said slowly.

"You'd best send him a message along with this one, then," Yamato said. "We don't want him to believe your loyalties have been compromised. Just – oh, God, I have no idea how to rescue this situation. It's exactly what Danzō has foretold for a while now, with Naruto surrounded by Uchiha."

Sai looked thoughtful, twirling his brush in his fingers. "He's going to think that they planned this, that they're working with Madara."

"Most likely, yes." Yamato sighed. "You'll have to work out how to best frame the news, Sai. Try not to give Danzō too much fuel for his fire; we can't afford for the Uchiha to be estranged from the village now."

"No, taichou," said Sai, dipping his brush into the ink. "What do you want to tell Headquarters?"

Half an hour later, two ink birds were winging their way across the clear blue sky, the Water Country archipelago dwindling behind them to a black streak on the horizon.

xXx

The hands on the clock above the spice cabinet were pointing at twenty minutes to seven as Haruno Mebuki came into the kitchen, still in her pajamas and slippers. She wore a blue flannel dressing gown, tied loosely at her waist, and her hair was still rumpled from the pillow. She filled the kettle at the sink, stoppered the spout with a figurine of a bird in full song, and set it on the hob to boil, then dropped two slices of bread in the toaster, and went to stand at the kitchen window, looking out.

Even though their apartment was only on the second floor, they still had a view clear to the village walls, though for how much longer that would last, Mebuki did not know. The shantytown of tents was steadily diminishing as apartment blocks and shops went up, and the village was filled with the sounds of construction by day.

Now all was quiet and grey in the twilight before dawn. Smoke was rising from the tents – people must be up already. She was not surprised. Konoha might have a temperate climate, but as fall deepened and turned to winter, the mornings grew colder and frost laid cold white fingers on the grass. She was glad that their apartment was finished.

The kettle began to whistle, and she turned back to the hob. A thread of steam was rising from the bird's open mouth, and the notes it sang grew keener. Quickly, she switched the gas off and lifted the kettle from the hob.

Coffee for Kizashi, she thought, spooning the grounds into the glass plunger and pouring the hot water over them. The smell of the brew filled her nostrils, clearing the last of the sleep from her head as it always did. Back when Sakura was small, this had been her morning routine, brewing the coffee and making toast to take to Kizashi in the bedroom, before waking her little daughter, but as Sakura had grown up, she would wake as the kettle began to sing and totter through to the kitchen, sleep-tousled and yawning, so that she could take her father his morning coffee. Even now that she was sixteen, pushing seventeen – _when did that happen?_ – and a fully-fledged ninja she still brought Kizashi his coffee when she was home.

The toast popped up, crisp and brown, and Mebuki slid the two slices onto a plate, buttered them lightly and then smeared honey thickly over them. The coffee was done brewing, and she depressed the plunger, trapping the grounds at the bottom. With a sharp crack, the glass broke, spilling scalding water and coffee all over the counter and Mebuki's hands.

She gave an involuntary yelp and hurried to the sink, turning the tap on full blast and letting the cold water wash over her hands. From the bedroom there came a muffled thudding, and moments later Kizashi was in the kitchen door, his bright blue eyes full of concern.

"Are you all right?" His gaze swept the kitchen, taking in the mess on the counter top and the coffee dripping down the cupboard and pooling on the floor. "Ah, it's that cheap coffee plunger," he said, joining her at the sink. "It was only a matter of time before it broke. How are your hands?"

"I'll be all right," she said. "I've had worse." Her heart was beating hard against her collarbone, almost leaping into her throat and choking her. It was a silly superstition, but she had been thinking of Sakura when the plunger cracked – Sakura, sent away to the north on a special mission – her baby girl –

Kizashi slipped his arms around her waist. "You look shaken."

"I'll be fine," she repeated. "It was just a bit of a surprise, having it shatter like that."

"I'll clean it up, don't worry." Kizashi leaned down and kissed her cheek, his sideburns tickling her ear, then let her go and went to fetch a cloth to mop up the coffee, lifting a piece of toast from the plate as he passed it.

As Mebuki turned the tap off and inspected her hands, she could not shake the sense that something was wrong with Sakura. Why else would the plunger have broken just then? She shook her head, trying to clear it of the thoughts.

"Oh dear," came a quiet voice from the doorway, and Mebuki looked up to see Uchiha Mikoto there, her pale face framed by her thick dark hair. She was immaculate in her green silk wrapper, as though she had not just been woken by the noise in the kitchen. "Let me get some cream for your hands."

Mebuki smiled. "Thank you."

"That's right, my dear," said Kizashi cheerfully, and took another enormous bite of toast and honey. "You jus' sit here an' let us sor' ev'rything ou'."

"Mikoto-san is our guest. You're not going to make her clean up." Mebuki eyed her husband sharply as she drew up one of the ladderbacked chairs. "And don't speak with your mouth full."

He grinned at her, and continued mopping up the spilled coffee.

Mikoto returned with a jar of salve, and, joining Mebuki at the table, started to spread it on her hands. "You don't look too badly burned," she said, rubbing it gently into the skin. "This should soothe any inflammation or redness. It's superb for burns. The family uses it after katon practice. When Sasuke was eight, he went through a whole jar of it in a week, trying to master the fireball technique."

Mebuki laughed. "If the Uchiha recommend it, it must be good."

Her hands were throbbing faintly, but as Mikoto worked the salve in with her slim fingers a deep coolness started to spread through Mebuki's skin and to sink deeper. She exhaled quietly, her shoulders relaxing. She hardly knew Mikoto, and to find herself being treated by the mother of her daughter's teammate was strange. Sitting at the table, watching Mikoto's shining dark head bent over her hands, she was keenly aware of her old flannel dressing gown and her unbrushed hair.

"You say Sasuke-kun went through a whole jar of this?" she said, striking up small talk on the first topic that came to mind. "Those must have been quite some fireballs he was blowing."

Mikoto smiled gravely. "I never saw him practicing, but he burned his mouth every morning and every afternoon. He works very hard – he's always trying to catch up to his older brother."

"Sakura never had siblings to challenge her," Mebuki said, "but since graduating from the Academy, she's been a changed girl."

"The Fifth works her apprentices hard."

Mebuki nodded. "It's also Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun. She says she has to work to catch up with them the whole time. I worry about her, you know. I've told her those two boys are blessed with great natural ability, and that she's done amazingly well, coming from such an ordinary family as ours."

Kizashi scooped up the fractured halves of the coffee plunger and wrapped them in a plastic bag. "I'm only a genin myself, but she's made chuunin and is apprenticed to the Hokage. She makes me so proud." He dropped the bag in the bin, and began on the second slice of toast.

"She's a daughter to be proud of," Mikoto agreed.

"She just doesn't see it," said Mebuki. "She's always talking about how she needs to get stronger, how she has to keep training, how she still hasn't caught up with the boys."

Mikoto put the lid back on the jar. "It's the same with my sons," she said ruefully. "I can see how much pressure they are under to live up to the clan's expectations, but they don't talk to me about it. Not any more, at least. Sasuke used to, when he was younger, but these days he takes all his cues from Itachi and his father." She sighed. "How are your hands, Mebuki-san?"

"They are much better, thank you, Mikoto-san." Mebuki pushed back her chair and rose to her feet. "Would you like some toast for breakfast?"

"That would be good." Mikoto inclined her head.

A quiet descended again as Mebuki dropped another two slices of bread into the toaster, then refilled the kettle and replaced the stopper. She had been so glad to see that the little bird had survived the blast that destroyed their home during Akatsuki's invasion of the village. Kizashi had bought it for her when they were still dating, back in her wild days when she fought with her parents and flouted their authority at every turn. How horrified they had been when they saw the bird spout-stopper! _Not traditional,_ they had said, as if they had not already seen her smoking and drinking and partying hard, but as they had run the oldest tea house in Konoha, the _Shō-an_, and prided themselves on their tea ceremonies, the little bird had been an intolerable affront. She wondered what Mikoto thought of it; after all, the Uchiha were one of the most traditional families in the village, along with the Hyuuga.

She glanced over at Mikoto as she sat at the table, her fingers with their smooth polished nails lightly clasped before her, a distant look in her eyes. There was a small crease between her brows. Thinking of the clan, no doubt, or perhaps her husband, far away at the Alliance's headquarters. If he were here, there would be no need for Mikoto to stay with them – the whole situation would never have arisen –

Or her children, both boys out of Konoha, Itachi stationed with the Allied division in the Water Country, Sasuke on the same mission as Sakura. _Sakura_. Her heart clenched again, and she could not shake the feeling of foreboding. It was only a superstition. She must be feeling the stresses and tension of the last twenty-four hours. That was it. Stress did strange things to the body, released chemicals into the bloodstream that made you feel anxious and nervous.

The toast was done, and she slid the two slices onto a clean china plate and laid it down in front of Mikoto. "Tea?" she asked. "I'm afraid there's no coffee to be had, now that the plunger's broken."

"Tea would be lovely," Mikoto said, buttering her toast. "I've often been told that the best tea in Konoha came from the Matsuoka _Shō-an_, and I regret that I never tried it."

"This may not be quite up to the standards of the _Shō-an_," Mebuki said. "You know how it's been since the attack –" She caught herself a moment too late. "Oh, I am sorry, Mikoto-san."

Mikoto shook her head. "It's not your fault. You've been extremely kind, and I am very grateful for all your help."

Kizashi lifted the whistling kettle off the hob. "If you're going to the council today, I can come with you, Mikoto-san. It's not right that they're refusing to rebuild the Uchiha quarter. Just because the leader of Akatsuki says he's an Uchiha doesn't mean you're all plotting against Konoha."

Mikoto's face tightened momentarily, lines appearing round her mouth and eyes like cracks in a porcelain glaze, and Mebuki threw an angry look at her husband. With a visible effort, Mikoto relaxed, returning to her serene expression. "Thank you, Kizashi-san. I'm sure the council will be reasonable."

The rest of breakfast was a quiet affair. Mebuki found her appetite reduced and she picked at her food. Just anxiety about Mikoto-san, she told herself. Yesterday had not been easy. The angry muttering and hostile looks in the streets when she had invited Mikoto to stay with them had put her on edge, but nobody would come right out and say anything, not to the wife of the head of the military police. Still, she knew the rumours about the Uchiha Clan, that they thought they were better than the other villagers, that they were conspiring against the Hokage, that they were in league with this Uchiha Madara, the leader of the Akatsuki. His very name damned them.

There had been that scene on the stairs yesterday afternoon, as their neighbours, going out, met her and Mikoto on their way up. The look of fear and condemnation on their faces at the sight of Mikoto –

"She's given up her house so that a family with a baby has somewhere warm to live," Mebuki had snapped. "She's the mother of Sakura's teammate, and she is our most welcome guest."

"If you say so." They had looked at her a moment longer, then hurried on their way. As they stepped out onto the street, their voices rose back up the stairs to her, clearly audible. "One of the Uchiha? Is that advisable? You know what they've been saying –"

Not everybody thought like that or believed in the rumours, but there was still an undercurrent of unease. She had seen it in the way people looked at the Uchiha police, and in the way some of the police had started to act first, ask questions later – that Yamanaka boy, who had spent the night in jail for loitering outside the police station and giving lip when asked to move on – the altercation between a pair of Uchiha policemen and an ANBU member just two days ago – No, things were not right in the village. If only the Hokage and her advisors would come back from the Allied Shinobi Headquarters.

Kizashi insisted on clearing the plates away and doing the washing up. "Hot water isn't good for burned hands," he said, holding a sudsy teacup in one hand, a towel thrown over his shoulder. "You get on and get dressed. You said you wanted to be at the market early this morning, before they sold out of pears. I'll take care of all of this before heading to the laboratory."

Half an hour later, she was showered and dressed and ready to go. Standing barefoot in the entrance hall, she ran her finger down her shopping list one last time, making certain that she had written out everything that she needed.

At the soft thud of a door closing she looked up to see Mikoto coming out of Sakura's room in a simple grey dress, her hair pinned in a bun at the nape of her neck.

"Are you off too?" she asked.

Mikoto nodded. "I have an appointment at the Academy with Homura-san and Koharu-san at nine o' clock."

"Do you think you'll have any luck?"

Mikoto shrugged. "They are generally quite reasonable, but even the council cannot force people to work where they don't want to." She stepped down into the entrance hall and drew on her shoes. "At best, they'll probably send a construction corps from the engineers to help. At worst they'll say their hands are tied."

"What will you do then?"

"We'll keep on rebuilding ourselves, as we're doing now. Families with small children and the elderly come first. The police can continue to bunk in the station. I've heard that the cells are quite comfortable!"

Mebuki tucked her grocery list into her shopping bag. "The Academy is on the way to the market – I'll walk with you, Mikoto-san."

It was a crisp October day outside, with a bite in the air that spoke of the oncoming winter. The sky arched high overhead, a pale brittle blue, and cirrus clouds streaked the northern horizon. There were already people on the streets, some with their hands thrust into their pockets and their heads sunk between their shoulders for warmth, whilst others strolled along with their faces turned up to the sun.

Mebuki could not find her usual enjoyment in the good weather. Her stomach was still tying itself in knots, and she could not shake the feeling that something was wrong with Sakura. The hardest part of being the mother and wife of two shinobi was the waiting, never knowing if they would come home again, and Sakura went on such dangerous missions these days. They had argued about that once, when Team Seven reformed after Naruto returned to Konoha.

"You trained under the Hokage to heal people," she had said, "not to kill them!"

"I trained with Tsunade-shishou to protect Naruto and Sasuke-kun!" Sakura whipped back.

"Why do you chase those boys around, Sakura?"

"They're my teammates!"

"Yes, and they didn't think you good enough these past two years. Why put yourself through that heartache again?"

As soon as the words left her mouth she had known they were the wrong thing to say. The colour mounted in Sakura's cheeks and her lips thinned into a hard line, her eyes unnaturally bright, but whether with anger or tears she could not tell.

"I am part of Team Seven," her daughter had said, her voice low and shaking. "I am part of Team Seven, and nobody is going to forget it this time." Then she had spun on her heel and slammed her bedroom door behind her so hard that walls shook. Neither of them had mentioned the fight since, and Mebuki had kept her fears to herself.

"It would be nice if we could talk to our children whenever we wanted, even when they're in the field," Mikoto said, surprising her from her thoughts.

"That's true. It's the worst part, not knowing if they're all right or not." Mebuki looked at Mikoto. "At least Sakura and Sasuke-kun are with Yamato-san. He's taken good care of them on every mission so far. And the war probably hasn't affected the Snow Country, they're so far north."

"Yes, the Snow Country is out of the way." Mikoto had that distant expression again. "But then I worry that they could be cut off there and we'd never know it."

Mebuki shifted her shopping bag to her other arm, nodding to a passing friend. She pretended not to see the way the smile fell from the other woman's face as she realised who she was with. "I'm lucky. Kizashi mostly works as a researcher, so I only have Sakura to worry about, but for you –"

Mikoto shook her head. "Fugaku is at Headquarters, so I don't worry about him. But the boys – they're out in the field, and anything can happen there. I know. I've been there."

Startled, Mebuki turned to look at Mikoto again. She did have that quick, light step and carried herself with a poise and a certainty Mebuki had seen in many kunoichi, but it was easy to see no further than the perfect coiff, not a hair out of place, and the manicured finger nails and the smooth pale complexion that seemed never to have known a day's weathering.

"I'm a jounin, Mebuki-san," Mikoto said, the corners of her mouth turning up in that grave smile again. "I have a three tomoe sharingan and taught Itachi and Sasuke their shuriken jutsu. I was on the battlefield last month, along with most of my clan. Almost all the Uchiha are ninja."

"I had no idea." Mebuki gave a sheepish laugh. "Would you believe I always thought all Uchiha were in the military police, and for some reason never thought of them as ninja?"

Mikoto smiled. "Well, you don't often see the police sent out on missions. They spend most of their time serving Konoha behind these walls." She paused and looked intently down the road, her eyes sharpening and narrowing. Mebuki followed her gaze to where the familiar round shape of the Academy reared up above the smaller buildings. There was a knot of people gathered outside. "Something's up, Mebuki-san."

"There are problems almost every day now. Food shortages, sanitation, and always rumours about the war. The village is in a shambles with the Hokage and her staff gone." Mebuki glanced anxiously at the crowd. "Shall I come with you?"

Mikoto shook her head. "You wanted to get your shopping done. I've taken up enough of your time already." She quickened her pace, heading towards the Academy. "I shall see you this afternoon."

The open-air market was one of Mebuki's favourite places to shop, with dozens of stalls selling everything from pickles to noodles to kitchen knives. Packed into one small square near the centre of the village, the stands wound back and forth in a maze of little alleys, full of people wandering up and down, browsing the wares on offer. There were vendors selling blocks of tofu, soft and firm, as well as bottles of soy milk and gypsum sachets, and confectioners with displays of small spongy cakes filled with sweet bean paste, _mochi_ covered in cocoa powder or pale green _matcha_, little jellies and _kurishigure_, balls of sweet bean paste with a chestnut filling. There were butchers with carcases hanging up at the back of the stall and neat displays of chops and steak and fillets at the front. At one end was a _yakiniku_ stand, with skewers of chicken and pork and squid sizzling on the grill and releasing a mouth-watering aroma into the air. Close by were the greengrocers, with baskets of fresh vegetables stacked on wooden crates – little green pumpkins, bundles of spring onions, _daikon_ radishes with the dirt still clinging to their fat white bodies, the large frilled leaves of _shiso_, pink-skinned sweet potatoes and purple eggplants. Across the way were the fruiterers, selling boxes of red apples packed in straw, mandarin oranges and persimmons. A pile of little wicker baskets stood near the till for customers to put their fruit in. To Mebuki's delight, they still had a box of assorted pears, some brown-skinned, others round and yellow.

"Those are the last of the pears for the season," said the woman at the till as Mebuki looked through the pears, picking them out of their bed of straw and turning them round in her hands. "We lost most of our trees when the village was destroyed. Only the ones near the walls survived."

"It's a bad time for Konoha, Sachi-san," Mebuki said, dropping her selection of pears into a basket and moving on to the persimmons. "Not enough houses, not enough food. Everyone's working hard to rebuild the village, but now with the war –"

Sachi shook her head. "It's a bad time all right."

Mebuki brought the little wicker basket over to the till. "I feel sorry for the people still living in tents. It's getting so cold in the mornings."

"Ah, that's true. I was up early this morning, picking fruit and packing it for the market, and there was frost on the ground." Sachi peered into the basket. "Six pears and eight – ten – twelve persimmons. That'll be ninety _ryō_."

As Mebuki opened her purse and counted out the coins, she became aware of a rising murmur further down the row, a sudden humming of voices from somewhere near the _yakiniku_ stand, and she remembered the crowd outside the Academy. Heads were turning at all the stalls, shoppers and vendors alike looking to see what the disturbance was.

"What do you think it is?" Mebuki asked.

Sachi looked grim. "Whatever it is, it probably isn't good news. You've heard what's being said about the Uchiha police."

A woman at one of the nearby stalls gave a sudden cry, and swung round, her face white. "My God! They're saying that Kirigakure was wiped out by Akatsuki, and the entire Allied division there massacred."

For a moment, Mebuki stood senseless, staring, whilst the street around her erupted with horrified exclamations and the frantic buzzing of voices passing the message on. Then, as though through a veil, she felt her thoughts begin to move again, slowly at first, then gathering speed, and her mind raced straight to Sakura. She would have stopped off at the Water Country on the way to the Snow Country. If they were getting the news in Konoha now, how many days ago had the attack on Kirigakure happened? What kind of scale had it been to obliterate a village and kill an entire division of ninja?

Her heart was thumping painfully hard. With each beat, it felt as though it was trying to force its way out of her chest.

"Mebuki-san, Mebuki-san!"

It was Sachi, at her elbow. "Mebuki-san, are you all right?"

Slowly, she looked round at the other woman. "I –" she began, but her mouth was so dry she could hardly speak. "I – my daughter – Sakura," she managed. "Sakura and her team were sent up north on a mission."

Sachi's hand flew to her mouth. "Your little Sakura-chan!"

There was a renewed outbreak of voices around them. "Sakura, the Hokage's apprentice?"

"And her teammates? Uzumaki Naruto?"

"Uzumaki Naruto was in the Water Country?"

"Has Akatsuki captured him?"

"Is Naruto okay?"

"My God, Akatsuki attacked Kirigakure to get Naruto!"

A sudden pang of nausea struck Mebuki, and she found she was shaking all over.

"Come here, Mebuki-san." Sachi gripped her by the arm and gently steered her behind the stall. "Sit down. It's a terrible shock. I'm sure Sakura-chan will be all right. She's a clever girl, and she's with her team. That Naruto will make sure she gets back safe."

The first shock was passing, and with it the nausea. Mebuki put one hand up to her forehead to push her bangs from her eyes, and found her hair wet with perspiration.

"I'm all right," she said, meeting Sachi's concerned gaze. "I – I should go home and tell my husband."

She rose to her feet, steadier now. Sachi handed her the shopping bag.

"Look after yourself now, Mebuki-san. I will say a prayer for Sakura-chan tonight."

"Thank you, Sachi-san." Mebuki's smile suddenly froze on her face. "Oh my God. Mikoto."

Before Sachi could say anything, Mebuki turned and darted back onto the street, pushing through the crowd as fast as she could go, ignoring all the angry looks and sharp cries of annoyance. Mikoto had told her last night that Itachi was part of the division at Kirigakure – the division that was massacred.

Once she was clear of the market, Mebuki hitched up the skirt of her qipao and ran. There was still a crowd outside the Academy, bigger than it had been before, and once again she had to jostle and elbow her way to the front. There was a pair of chuunin standing at the foot of the stairs that spiralled round the outside of the Academy building and led up to the administrative section and Hokage's office on the second floor, barring the way with crossed staves.

"I'm here for Uchiha Mikoto," she panted. "She has a meeting with Mitokado Homura-san and Utatane Koharu-san."

The chuunin looked back at her. "We can't let you through, not unless you have authorised business with –"

Mebuki thrust her face into his. "My daughter and Mikoto's youngest son had a mission in the north, and her elder son was part of the division at Kirigakure. I'm not here to talk to anyone, I'm not here to shout or complain or scream about the fact that my daughter may be dead out there. I'm here for a mother who has just lost both of her children in action. I'm here to take her home."

The chuunin exchanged a glance with his fellow guard. "All right," he said with a shrug, and they lowered their staves. "You go in there, fetch your friend, and take her back to her house."

Mebuki flew up the stairs, breathless with fear and exertion. At the top, she paused, looking both ways along the curving corridor, uncertain which way she should go. She had visited the Academy when Sakura was still a student there, but all the classrooms were on the ground floor and, not being a ninja, she had never needed to climb the stairs to the upper storeys.

As she hesitated, she heard someone coming, and decided to find them and ask for directions. Squaring her shoulders, she started down the corridor, her footsteps muffled by the thick green carpet laid over the hardwood floors.

She had not gone more than six or seven yards when she saw the person coming towards her. To her relief it was Mikoto, her face paler than usual, but her back still straight and her composure still intact.

"Mikoto!" she gasped. "Are you – are you all right?"

Mikoto blinked, and the corners of her mouth turned down for a moment. "You heard too?"

"In the market." Mebuki paused. "So – it's not just a rumour?"

Mikoto closed her eyes. "No," she said, quietly. And then, in an even softer voice, so small it trembled just above the verge of hearing, "My sons."

And my daughter, thought Mebuki, her stomach curling into knots once more. Oh, Sakura, _Sakura_.

* * *

><p><strong>Mostly Culinary Notes Which Ignore The Fact That Nothing Has Been Done To Resolve Sakura's Breathing Problem<strong>

This chapter required a lot of reading up about boats for me, and a constant checking and rechecking of terms and actions. So, for the edification of my fellow land-lubbers, a merchantman is a ship used in commerce, rather than by a navy. The braces are a pair of lines that run from the yardarm - a wooden spar on the mast to which the sail is fastened - down to the deck, where the crew can haul on them to rotate the yardarm and the sail according to the ship's course relative to the wind. The stern is the rear of the ship, and port is the lefthand side of the ship when you face forwards.

D spinning the helm to the right when asking to turn left is not a mistake, but is indeed how you steer a vessel. If you have no interest in physics, feel free to skip the rest of this paragraph. The helm is the steering mechanism of the ship, in this case a wheel attached to a lever, or tiller, which is fixed in turn to the rudder, a flat piece of wood or metal attached to the hull, or outside, of the ship by means of hinges. Thanks to the hinges, the rudder can be moved to the right or left through the motion of the tiller. Turning the tiller leads to the water flow striking the rudder with increased force on the same side as the tiller is turned. The rudder then moves in the opposite direction, where the water pressure is lower, and as the rudder goes, so the stern goes, and the entire ship turns.

Moving on to the food and drinks section now, continuing the punning tradition I've been using for names (see the notes at the end of Chapter 11), the name of Mebuki's parents' tea house, the _Shō-an_ or "Pine Hut", is a pun on their surname, Matsuoka or "pine hill", as the character 松 "pine tree" can be read as both _shō_ and _matsu_.

At the market, the wares on display at the confectioners are my fond reminisces of my trips to Minamoto Kitchoan in London. A quick Google search will find you their website and you can actually see the sweets described. _Mochi_ are rice cakes made from a sticky short-grain rice, and _matcha_ is a powdered form of green tea, while the _kurishigure_ are exactly as described, little balls of sweet bean paste containing a chestnut filling. The gypsum sold by the tofu vendors is used to coagulate the soy milk when making tofu. _Yakiniku_ is grilled meat - thanks to Chouji, the word should be familiar to anyone who has watched the anime. As for the vegetables, _daikon_ are large white radishes native to East Asia, and _shiso_ is part of the mint family, sometimes called _Perilla_. It comes in two varieties, red and green, with the leaves of the red variety being used in making _umeboshi_, pickled plums, while the green leaves are often chopped up and used as herbs, or, left whole, serve as plates for wasabi and other garnishes.


	14. A Parting of the Ways

Sooo, it's been a while since the last update. If you need a recap, Team Seven along with Itachi and Shisui are in the Snow Country, on the run from Uchiha Madara and his shapeshifting Zetsu soldiers. Even the Hidden Snow has been infiltrated, and while Team Seven may have escaped from there with Princess Koyuki, Yukika is dead and Sakura has been poisoned.

Thanks to the readers, reviewers and followers of this story, and an especial thanks as always to my beta Just Subliminal for proof-reading and vetting every chapter, and keeping me writing when I slack off.

* * *

><p>Chapter Fourteen<p>

A Parting of the Ways

As Sakura's breath faded into the dark, Naruto's heart seemed to still for a moment, and then start up again in a frantic flurry. "She's not breathing!" he said. "Sakura-chan's not breathing!"

"What?" Sasuke asked sharply.

"Sakura's not breathing?" There was a clear note of alarm in Sai's voice.

"She's not breathing! She's dying!" Naruto crushed her limp hand in his grip. "You've gotta save her, vet ninja!"

Izo cursed. "I'm at the limits of my chakra." The pale glow of his medical jutsu flared in the darkness, lighting up his grim face from beneath, and he lowered his hands over Sakura's chest. His eyes narrowed in concentration as the chakra flowed from him, humming faintly. Beads of sweat formed on his lip.

In the dim light, Naruto could see Itachi on Sakura's other side, his eyes glowing red under his singed eyebrows as he watched Izo. His expression was intent.

"Breathe! Breathe, dammit!" The chakra enveloping Izo's hands burned even brighter, the hum rising to a shrill whine. "Come _on_, breathe!"

In the next instant, the jutsu blazed up, lighting the wet limestone walls and ceiling, throwing harsh shadows from the stalactites dangling from the roof, and then abruptly blinked out, leaving them in intense darkness. Izo's panting filled the silence that followed.

"I – I – I'm out of chakra," he said.

It was as though Naruto's stomach had turned to ice. His fingers slackened on Sakura's hand, and there was a pressure at the backs of his eyes. This was the end, then, here in the dark, underground, with snowy mountains piled high above them. This wasn't the place for Sakura to die, not Sakura, so full of life and laughter – and yet – If only he could do the jutsu that Chiyo-baachan had done for Gaara – or give her his chakra – or – or –

"What about chest compressions?" came Shisui's voice. "We use them in the field when there are no medical ninja around."

"I can try," said Izo. "But with _fugu_ poisoning it only delays the …"

His voice trailed off as they became aware of a quiet hum and a soft light. Naruto whipped his gaze up, disbelieving even when he saw Itachi bent over Sakura, his sharingan slowly turning as the shōsen jutsu pulsed around his hands.

"You can heal too, Itachi-san?" Koyuki sounded every bit as amazed as Naruto felt.

"Perhaps," said Itachi.

"What do you mean, _perhaps?_" Naruto snapped. "You can't just fool around with Sakura-chan's life like that!"

Sasuke cut in. "Naruto, use your brain for once."

Naruto swung round to face his teammate, bristling, but Sasuke continued before he could open his mouth to retort. "He's copied the technique with his sharingan."

"It's not that simple, Sasuke, you idiot. You have to have perfect chakra control to use medical ninjutsu, Sakura-chan told me."

There was a sudden soft whisper of sound, and Naruto whirled back to see Sakura's chest rise and fall with a shallow breath.

"You also have to have perfect chakra control to use genjutsu the way Itachi does," Shisui said. "Relax, Naruto. Sakura's breathing again."

"So that's the power of the sharingan, huh?" Miyu said from the tiller. "Never thought I'd see it first-hand myself."

A wave of heat rushed up and down Naruto's body and he felt suddenly weak. "You're alive, Sakura-chan," he whispered.

Izo shook his head. "She's not out of danger yet. She could stop breathing again, or have convulsions once more, or her heart could stop beating altogether." He looked at Itachi. "How on earth did you get her breathing? It seemed impossible."

"Poison disrupts the chakra flow in the body," Itachi said, the pace of his sharingan quickening as he spoke. "That's why Sakura couldn't heal herself. I adapted the shōsen jutsu somewhat, to try to use it to restore a more normal chakra flow."

"I still don't understand how you did it." Izo watched with an expression of bewildered admiration on his face. "You can't see the chakra flow."

"The sharingan can," said Sasuke.

Miyu whistled, and in the stern the dogs pricked their ears. "That's scary. I'm glad we're on the same side. I'd hate to go up against a sharingan user."

Quiet fell again, a quiet that to Naruto was filled with the sound of Sakura's faltering breath. Weak as it was, it sent relief coursing through him. In the light of the glimmering chakra she looked wan, her eyes sunken in shadow beneath her brows, but still her chest rose and fell, rose and fell.

Koyuki stood up suddenly from where she had been sitting with Sai and Shisui. "Miyu, we've come far enough by now to not worry about being discovered by the pursuit. For Sakura's sake, speed is more important than secrecy."

Miyu saluted. "Yes, _hime_."

There was a spluttering, coughing noise, and the ferry's engine throbbed into life. The masthead light suddenly blazed on, cutting a brilliant beam through the dark channel ahead, and the passengers blinked, dazzled. Several of the dogs stirred, lifting their heads from their paws, but at a word from Izo they settled back down.

"Speed is all very well," said Shisui, "but I'd like to know where we're speeding to and what to expect when we get there."

Miyu nodded. "As I said, this river brings us out much lower down the mountains, below the heaviest snow. There's a concealed landing stage in the mouth of the cave, and from there, we'll make for Rebun and Kazahana Castle by sled."

"Rebun?" Sai asked. "We just came from there."

"Yes, we had to rescue Koyuki-neechan from Akatsuki," Naruto chipped in.

"The shapeshifters?" Miyu's face tightened. "Are they still there?"

Sasuke shrugged. "We didn't see any of the Zetsu. It was an ambush laid by a member of the organisation, one of the S-class missing nin. _Nii-san_ dealt with him."

Miyu frowned. "Then it's probably safe to return there with Koyuki-hime. The daimyo will have the protection of the guards as well, and we can get your med-nin treated in the castle hospital."

"The castle was on fire when we left," Sai said.

Sasuke nodded. "That's true. Deidara blew up the daimyo's rooms in the Tenshu."

"There's still plenty of other space in the castle," said Koyuki. "We should make for Rebun as quickly as possible. It's the only way to save Sakura."

Naruto grinned at her as she stood tall on the deck of the ferry, her plum-coloured kimono gleaming like flame in the bright beam of the masthead light. "Thank you, _neechan_."

She returned his smile. "You came out here to protect me – I should be thanking you."

Shisui gave a light cough, drawing attention back his way. "Grateful as we are for your concern for Sakura," Shisui said, "we can't return to Rebun."

Naruto felt as though he had been punched in the stomach. "What the hell?" he said, jumping to his feet and glowering at Shisui. "Sakura-chan is poisoned. She's going to die if she doesn't get treated by a proper doctor. Don't you care about her?" His voice rose as he spoke, a quick hot anger smouldering in his belly and mounting through his veins. "It's just like Yamato-taichou. You're leaving everyone behind!"

"Naruto's right," said Sasuke, coming to stand with Naruto. "Sakura has to be treated. She's our med-nin – we need her, and right now she needs proper treatment. We have to go to Rebun."

Shisui sighed. "The two of you never ever listen, do you? Now shut up and hear me out." His eyes narrowed as he looked at the boys, and their protests died on their lips. "We can't return to Rebun just yet. Akatsuki has infiltrated the Hidden Snow. We don't know when this happened, nor do we know how many of the ninja are actually imposters. We could have stayed to fight, but we have the princess to protect, so retreating is a better idea for now. However, our original mission was not to act as bodyguards for the daimyo. We were sent here to make the Snow Country secure against Akatsuki, and with the ninja village compromised, that means we need to head to the generator."

Izo, kneeling at Sakura's side, looked up, his face grim. "You think the generator is a target?"

"Yes. Think of its sheer power. It produces enough energy to melt an entire country's worth of ice and snow for months at a time. You think of it now as your country's treasure and use it to create spring, but Dotou thought of it as a weapon – and he was right. That same energy could be used by Akatsuki to destroy entire cities. If it falls into their hands, it would be a disaster."

Naruto clenched his fists until his nails bit into the palms of his hands. "You'd sacrifice Sakura-chan for the generator?" he growled in frustration.

"I'm not sacrificing her," Shisui said. "Izo and Itachi together should be able to keep her going. If she makes it through the day, she'll survive. _Fugu_ kills quickly when it kills. Once we've assessed the situation at the generator, then we can return to Rebun and Sakura can be treated." His cool dark eyes met Naruto's angry gaze. "She's our medic. We need her alive. We also need to make certain that the power of the generator is not harnessed by Akatsuki. As long as Sakura is in a stable condition, the generator comes first."

Naruto looked away, back at Sakura. Her hair was damp and her forehead shone with sweat, but she was breathing steadily as she lay on the deck, Itachi still bent over her. The hum of his jutsu was drowned out by the throbbing of the ferry's engine, but Naruto could still see the chakra flowing from his hands into Sakura's body. As he looked on, Itachi's shoulders hunched and he coughed, and the jutsu flickered, wavering like a guttering candle, before Itachi caught himself and steadied the technique once more.

Koyuki was speaking, and Naruto turned back to her. "I understand the importance of the generator," she said, "but I must return to Rebun. It may not be as vital as the generator, but my people need to know that I am alive. As far as they know, I've been missing since Kazahana Castle was attacked and set on fire by ninja. If I don't get back to Rebun as quickly as possible, there will be a price on your heads for attempted murder and abduction of the daimyo."

"I've always wanted my bounty to break fifty million, but you do have a point." Shisui pursed his lips in thought. "How long will it take us to get to Rebun, Miyu?"

"If we don't run into bad weather, we should get there by early afternoon. The dogs cover a lot of ground."

"And the generator?"

"From Rebun it takes one and a half days. If you go from the landing stage, it's a shorter distance as the crow flies, but you have to cross the Rainbow Glacier."

"As the crow flies, you say?" Shisui exchanged a glance with Itachi. "Now there's a thought."

xXx

Falling flakes drifted through the air, throwing a veil of white across the timbered flanks of the mountains. The firs and spruce were laden with snow, their branches encased in sheets of icy crystals and their trunks plastered with white. A small flock of crossbills moved from tree to tree, using their distinctive beaks to prise the conifers' cones open and extract the oily seeds from within, little red and yellow shapes flitting through the curtain of flakes. A doe and her half-grown fawns stood on the bank of the river, dipping their heads to the water, their ears twitching, turning, swivelling this way and that to catch any sound that might mean danger. The falling snow struck the water and hissed as it melted, dissolving into the fast-flowing current and running on down the river.

Suddenly, the deer tensed, throwing their heads up. The sound of barking and yammering came from upstream, and the doe stamped once with her forefoot. The excited barks ceased, but the deer still stood poised, waiting, snow beating on their backs and in their eyes.

From round a limestone outcropping came the long grinning faces of a pair of dogs, and then another pair, and another, jaws parted, tongues lolling out. The doe gave a second quick stamp, then switched around and bounded off through the trees, her tail flagged. The fawns followed her. In a matter of moments, they were gone, phantoms in the flakes.

The dogs continued downstream without a second look, their ears pressed back against their heads and their tails high as they ran, drawing the sled and its still passenger after them. Izo held onto the handlebar at the back, pushing off the ground with one foot. Behind him came Miyu, carrying Koyuki on his shoulders, and Naruto and Sai.

Koyuki's eyes were bright and she leaned eagerly over Miyu's shoulder, her lips parted as though she would drink the wind and the snow. "It's like old times!" she exclaimed, looking at Naruto. "Running through the forest, making an escape – remember when you outran that train with me? The real you, I mean." She paused. "Do clones –"

Naruto grinned. "Yes, I remember. You were screaming, _neechan_."

Koyuki laughed. "Poor Yukie. She was afraid of everything."

"Yeah, you were." Naruto nodded.

Koyuki's eyes narrowed. "Speaking to your client like that, Naruto," she said severely, but there was a playful undertone. "What would Kakashi-san say?"

"Kakashi-san leaves it to Sakura," said Sai. "She's the only one Naruto is scared of."

Miyu glanced at them, his brows raised. "She's a medic. What's there to be scared of?"

"Her smile," said Sai. "Be very careful when she smiles at you and apologises. She doesn't mean it."

Miyu looked baffled for a moment, then realisation broke over his face. "Oh, yes, Yukika does it all the time." He caught himself, and Koyuki's hands tightened on his shoulders.

"Miyu," she said, "we will avenge Yukika. I swear this by her life and her loyalty." The purple depths of her eyes changed, hardening like a frost. "We'll find the one who attacked Yukika and Sakura. When we get back to Rebun, we're going to join the war against Akatsuki. And if I must, I will take the generator and use it as a weapon."

Naruto looked at the sled leading the way, where Sakura lay shrouded in furs and blankets. Yukika's death is another link in the chain of hatred, he thought, and by seeking revenge, Koyuki-_neechan_ will make another link to bind the Snow Country into the chain. It gets bigger and bigger all the time. Nagato was right – it can't be stopped, but it must be. But I can't do it by myself.

He could just see the top of Sakura's head, snowflakes clinging like stars to her bright hair. Her utter stillness flowed into him, weighing him down, and his vision blurred. If only she could turn round and smile at him, then he would not feel so alone.

We'll get you to Rebun, Sakura-chan, he vowed silently. There'll be a doctor there, and you'll be better by the time the real me and the others get back from the generator. You're too strong to die. You won't give up. I won't let you.

xXx

The Rainbow Glacier stretched like a vast white road through the inland mountains, an ice highway that ground inexorably down to the coastal lowlands. Moraines marked its sides, long dark ridges of cracked rock and fine silt formed when the bones of the very mountains shattered in the intense cold and fell into the ice. Crevasses scored the surface of the glacier, and seracs lay between them like crazed tiles or thrust up like cold fingers reaching for the sky. In summer the glacier had retreated as its coverlet of snow melted and formed pools of the purest blue and waterfalls that plunged over the edges of the crevasses and disappeared. Now, with the return of winter, the deep dark ice in the heart of the glacier woke and shrugged its shoulders, grinding away the ribs of the mountain spurs, reaching thousands of cold fingers into the brittle ground so that it cracked and fissured, and began its march through the valleys once more.

Cold winds swept off the mountain peaks, trailing streamers of cloud and fine snow. The air was filled with a freezing mist. Perched on the back of his hawk summons, Sasuke hunkered down, folding his cloak around himself. His teeth were chattering, and he chafed his hands against his arms as he gazed ahead, hoping to spy out the glacier foot. The other birds were dark shapes in the wind and the cloud. There was one good thing about this weather, at least, and that was that it provided them with cover as they flew. Without the clouds they would have been easy marks in the sky, far too easy to spot and track.

He frowned. Now that he thought of it, from the moment they had landed in Mizushima they had stumbled into one ambush after another. It was almost as though their every movement had been predicted. Yes, Yukika had been responsible for their first encounter with Deidara, and the chakra suppressor had led Madara to the inn, but there was no reason there should have been a group of transformed Zetsu waiting at Yukigakure. And Mizushima itself, where he had been the target – that made no sense. Why not Naruto? He was the jinchuuriki, not Sasuke; he was the one with the bijuu that Madara wanted. And yet –

A picture slid into his mind of a battlefield, strewn with shattered rocks and fallen trees and dead bodies – so many dead bodies, he remembered – and the masked man standing before him. _I have eyes everywhere_. _In the end you cannot outrun me. I'll be waiting for you … Sasuke. _

He shuddered. It was true. Had Itachi not been there, Madara might have already – done what? He had made no move to attack him, nor Itachi, just stood there whilst their attacks passed through him. Had he wanted to capture or kill them, he could have done it easily, and yet he let them run. And last night again, at the inn, he had let them escape in the snowbus even though Naruto was right there. He was toying with them, just as Orochimaru had toyed with them in the Forest of Death, and when he grew tired of playing, he would pounce. Perhaps that was why Sakura had been attacked –

"I see it!" Shisui sang out. "Start the descent!"

As the hawk stooped low, Sasuke peered ahead, squinting through the icy mist to make out the near-imperceptible line where the glacier ended and the snow began. Beyond the foot of the ice sheet there should be a cirque, he recalled, where the generator was housed. His gaze roved over the valley, trying to pick out any familiar landmarks, but in the blowing cloud the peaks and spurs seemed to change shape and size continuously.

His hawk banked and turned, losing height rapidly, so that the surface of the glacier came rushing up to meet them. They were flying so low now that Sasuke could see the translucent tips of the ridges and buckled slabs of ice forced up by the pressure of the glacier grinding down to the sea, and individual crevasses like blue mouths in the broken surface ice, some fine as threads, others torn and jagged. The glacier was streaming away beneath them, and then suddenly it dropped off. The hawk turned once again, and as it righted itself, the glacier was above them, a great wall of blue ice sliding up and up above their heads as the hawk spread its wings and glided in to land on the snow and jumbled rocks at the foot of the glacier. One after another, the other birds with their passengers came to ground.

Sasuke slid off, and the hawk curved its head round so that he could rub its beak. "Thank you," he said, his breath steaming, and it dismissed itself in a puff of smoke and feathers.

"So, recognise any of this?" Shisui asked, making a sweeping gesture with one arm that encompassed the valley below and the mountains above.

Sasuke shrugged. "The generator should be lower down. It wasn't right on the glacier."

Naruto joined them, his eyes rimmed with orange. "There are people out there," he said, pointing off to the left, towards a ring of weathered peaks. "We could ask them."

"They aren't Zetsu?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto shook his head. "I can't feel any of them."

Shisui exchanged a glance with Itachi. "That must be the patrol that Miyu told us about."

"We approach with caution," Itachi said. "They were ordered to prepare for an attack on the generator. We don't want any more trouble."

"Naruto, are you certain they aren't Zetsu?" Sasuke asked.

Naruto nodded. "I can recognise the chakra of an untransformed Zetsu, and I don't sense it here."

"But if they're transformed?" Sasuke persisted.

"Well, sure, then their chakra feels normal. But these aren't Zetsu. I know it."

Itachi looked thoughtfully at Naruto. "You were using Kyuubi chakra before to tell the Zetsu apart, not Sage Mode. Why not now?"

Naruto sighed. "When I use the Kyuubi's chakra, I sense people's feelings, not actual chakra like I do in Sage Mode. So I could tell the Zetsu apart before because they were angry and wanted to kill us, but if people feel the same way, I can't tell what they are."

"And he glows," added Shisui. "Don't forget that. Always a desirable quality when trying to sneak up on people."

"Ah, yes." Itachi pushed his singed hair off his face. "I had almost forgotten." He looked back down the valley. "Well, Naruto-kun, guide us to these people. Everyone is to move carefully and to keep out of sight until we know if they are friend or foe."

From the foot of the glacier, the valley ran on for over a mile between the ridges and spurs of the mountains, dropping steadily until it plunged into the treeline. A road led up the valley floor from the forested slopes below, but before reaching the glacier, it turned and zig-zagged up a long gentle spur that passed out of sight behind the ring of peaks that Naruto had pointed out. As the four shinobi moved off, Sasuke kept racking his memories of the fight at the generator, trying to fit the mountains around them into the images in his mind. He and Kakashi and Sakura had come across country, he knew that, but the route they had taken was blurred; only the fight itself was clear, with the sharpness of clarity the sharingan gave to memories. It had been inside a hollow cup within the mountains, the generator's ignition motor on a small hillock above an iced-over lake. He could still see the slabs of ice torn up by Dotou's attack on Naruto and the dark water beneath, could see the clouds of steam rising as the pillars of the generator began to warm up and slough their covering of snow, and behind them the dim shapes of the mountains, melting into the grey sky.

"I think the generator is somewhere near the circle of peaks," he said as they flitted across the steep pitch of a spur.

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, this place looks kind of familiar."

Shisui glanced over his shoulder. "That may be so, but don't let your guard down. We've been ambushed time and again."

Itachi turned to Naruto. "Are the people ahead moving around or staying put?"

"They're still exactly where they were."

"Entrenched, then, waiting for attack." Itachi's breath hitched and his lips thinned momentarily. "All right. We'll get higher up the side of the valley, circle around behind those peaks and approach from the northeast. When we're closer, Naruto, you point out their position, and we'll take it from there."

The next half hour was a breathless scramble over rough ground, cut up by steep moraines and the long reaching fingers of the mountain ridges. Snow plastered the rocks and lay in drifts in the gullies between the spurs. Naruto floundered into a soft white blanket once, sinking up to his chest, and had to be dug out. Even inside his gloves, Sasuke's hands were clumsy with cold, almost numb from shovelling the powder snow.

"Watch where you jump, moron," he said as he hauled Naruto out of the drift.

"I was." Naruto started to brush himself off, then stopped. "Hey, if we all get snow-covered we won't stick out as much."

"The rest of us are wearing dark colours, not bright orange. We blend well enough with the rocks," Sasuke pointed out. "You on the other hand –"

Itachi cleared his throat. "Shut up and get a move on, both of you. Or do I have to ask Shisui to sort you out?"

Shisui turned round slowly, a grin spreading over his face, and the two boys snapped their mouths shut at once.

There was one last climb over a shaley slope before they found themselves poised above the cirque. There, in the bowl made by the ring of peaks, stood the circle of generator columns, dusted with snow. The lake at their feet was still black, but ice was already forming round the edges, creeping towards the middle. All was quiet.

Sharingan active, Sasuke let his gaze trail slowly across the basin, impressing every detail of the terrain into his mind. Somewhere in there were ninja, waiting for – what? Them? His pulse quickened at the thought.

"There are twelve of them," Naruto whispered. "They're paired up. Five pairs behind the columns" – he pointed them out one by one – "and the last pair on the ground by the generator, I think. I can feel their chakra but I can't see them."

Itachi nodded. "Genjutsu."

Sasuke fixed his gaze on the hillock where the generator stood. The atmosphere seemed denser there, a subtle distortion in the air almost like a heat haze, and then it flickered and peeled away before his sharingan, exposing a pair of ninja in Snow Country uniforms.

"Looks like they're not in the mood to be friendly." Shisui frowned. "I guess that rules out Naruto using the Kyuubi's chakra to see who they are, and all of them _look_ human, so Sage Mode doesn't help there either."

"Don't worry," said Naruto. "I've got it all under control." He pointed down the cirque. "Kagebunshin decoys."

"What about waiting for orders?" Sasuke snapped.

Naruto shrugged. "I figured I'd rather have kagebunshin attacked than us."

"But –"

"Sasuke." Itachi shook his head. "Let's see what happens."

Two figures came over the lip of the cirque and down the road towards the generator. Sasuke blinked in surprise. "You and – _Kakashi_?"

Naruto nodded. "They asked for Kakashi-sensei to come and help them with our mission," he began, "so they have to be enemies if they attack h– oh."

Shisui shrugged as the pair of kagebunshin fended off a shower of missiles. "Apparently, they don't want his help after all." The snow beneath the clones' feet seethed, boiling upwards in the form of a great white wolf. "In fact, it seems they are rejecting it with extreme prejudice."

"I'll deal with the genjutsu." Itachi made a quick hand seal. "Take the others down without killing, if they are Snow shinobi."

Shisui nodded. "The grey suits they're wearing give them extra chakra, and makes them resistant to genjutsu and ninjutsu, according to Yukika."

"I remember that," Sasuke said. "They're vulnerable to taijutsu, though – Kakashi said he killed their leader last time with the lotus. And I think their suits might explode if they get too close to each other."

"Good to know." Shisui flashed a small smile at him. "Aim for the_ inyo_ on their suits. Disabling that should stop the chakra boost they get."

"Roger that!" Naruto shot off down the slope, bursting into cold golden flames as he went. Not about to be outdone, Sasuke rocketed after him, collecting chakra in the palm of his hand for a chidori. This time, he'd break the damn _inyo_ himself and not rely on Naruto to finish the job as he had when fighting Dotou.

Sharingan blazing, he could see the ninja waiting in the cirque turning to face him as if in slow motion. The snowy ground between them began to froth, and he leaped to the side, swerving round the hyōton tiger as it formed and ducking under the blow of its great paw. With a quick pulse of chakra to his feet, he sprang at the nearest of the shinobi, the chidori in his hand screeching, and slammed his fist through the man's guard, straight into the _inyo_ on his chest. The other ninja was thrown backwards by the force of the impact, crashing into the kunoichi paired with him. For a moment, it seemed that the _inyo_ had held up, but then Sasuke saw the chakra flaring up within it, bubbling and seething. Quick as a thought, he somersaulted backwards, just as the broken _inyo_ burst asunder, detonating with a blast of searing heat.

All of a sudden Naruto was there beside him, his face white. "Stop, Sasuke!" he shouted. "They're not Zetsu! They're our allies!"

"How do you know?"

"They aren't turning into trees!"

A whistling sound made Sasuke spin around in time to see a flock of ice swallows swooping on them, wings glinting like scythes. He dropped at once, pulling Naruto down with him, and the first swallows smashed themselves into smithereens on the generator pillar above them. Fragments of ice showered down on the boys as they rolled to their feet.

"Hey, we're friends!" Naruto yelled. "We don't want to f-" He lurched sideways, cursing, as the remaining swallows wheeled round and dove on him again. "No, I mean it!" he shouted, stepping forward and lifting his hands up, ignoring the flock as it whirled down towards him. "We're your allies!"

Red flame billowed up before him, engulfing the birds and sending them up in hissing steam. "They're not listening!" Sasuke shouted. "We have to take them down, Naruto!"

Naruto's heart was going like a triphammer, beating so hard that it felt as though it might burst out of his chest. It's not right, he wanted to say, but his throat was tight. It's not right to attack them. If we hurt them, they won't forgive us or trust us. We'll be continuing that chain of hatred. I have to end it. I promised I would! He clenched his fists, fingernails biting into his palms.

A terrible sensation of being smothered swept over him, squeezing the breath from his lungs, filling his vision with all-encompassing white, and for a moment he swayed, his limbs like lead. As quickly as it had come, the feeling lifted, and he realised that his two kagebunshin had been dispelled by a ninjutsu attack.

"Naruto!" Sasuke was before him, wielding his chidori lance. "Pull yourself together!"

The next instant, there was a blow to the back of Naruto's thigh and a sharp snapping sound. Arms sprouted from his cloak of golden chakra, swinging round behind and on either side, and he heard the sounds of shattering ice. Pain burst in his leg, and he looked down to see a spike of ice sticking out above his knee, the tip covered in a webbing of blood. His breath hissed through his teeth.

"Don't tell me you got impaled," Sasuke said, as he glanced over his shoulder. "Ice stakes start exploding from the snow and you just stand there, waiting to be skewered."

"They came from behind."

There was a hum of electricity through the air as Sasuke swung the chidori lance down behind Naruto, shearing through the spike of ice. "Turn around," he suggested.

Wincing, Naruto obliged. His thighbone felt as though it were made of two broken bits of chalk that were grinding against the blade of ice, and as he stepped on it, his leg gave way underneath him. Nausea roiled in his belly. "I think it's broken."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "Typical."

Naruto did not bother to respond to his jibe, looking instead at the splintered remains of the ice stakes. "They're really serious about fighting us."

"Leaving your back open to attack like that means –"

"Wow. That would truly have been the ultimate version of Kakashi-sensei's a thousand years of death." Naruto touched the sheared-off column of ice with a thoughtful expression. "I wonder if –"

"No," said Sasuke flatly. "That is a stupid idea."

"It worked on Gaara."

"Shut up and get back to fighting, moron."

With a shrill whistling of wings, another flock of ice swallows swooped on them, only to be met by Sasuke's fireball. In amongst the field of broken ice stakes, the snow gathered itself up in a twisting winding column, but Naruto was ready for it this time, and as the hyōton dragon lunged, mouth agape, a chakra arm smashed a rasengan straight down its gullet, exploding it into a sudden flurry of flakes. Through the drifting snow, he could see Itachi and Shisui back to back on the frozen lake, fending off ice and water attacks from three directions.

The snowflakes began to swirl, twisting round and round Naruto and Sasuke. The air was oppressive, heavy with chakra, as the snow thickened, spiralling upwards faster and faster. Sasuke unleashed another katon, but with a roar, the vortex of snow was upon them, hurling them off their feet. Snow beat upon them from all directions, stinging their faces, and then it was no longer snow but needles of ice tearing through their clothes and piercing their flesh. The pain was intense.

Arms thrown up to protect his eyes, Naruto lunged to his feet, trying to break out of the storm, but his broken leg collapsed beneath him and he fell, the impact jolting the spike of ice in his thigh. A cry escaped him, torn from his chest. The wind snatched it from his lips and blew it away with the shards of ice. This was bad – he didn't have the durability of Sage Mode whilst using the Kyuubi's chakra – The tornado was gathering force as yet another chakra was joined to it – How many Snow shinobi were powering it now? How was Sasuke? Flying ice gashed his temple, and blood ran into his eye.

Flames billowed around him, twisted into weird shapes by the wind, scorching the back of his neck.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he shouted.

"Getting us out of here!"

"You're gonna burn me up too!"

"Good!"

The tornado wobbled as the fire roared up, consuming the snow and ice as it went, and for a moment the wind sank and the dense air thinned. The flames gasped, flickered, and went out, and the storm descended once more.

"Damn it!" Sasuke threw his arms up before his face again. "It won't work if they stop the wind."

Bruised and bleeding as he was, Naruto jerked up, suddenly grinning. "You're right!" The golden cloak of Kyuubi chakra grew a pair of arms. "Sasuke, get over here – we need a katon!"

"For a rasengan?"

"A fuuton rasenshuriken!" Naruto raised a triumphant hand aloft, a rasenshuriken screaming in his palm. "Ready?"

The instant it left Naruto's hand, thrown almost directly upwards, Sasuke ignited it. There was a _whump_ as the blades of wind caught fire, and then the rasenshuriken went burning up and up through the storm, scything holes through the tornado.

"Get down!" Naruto yelled, and the boys threw themselves flat.

With a dull boom, the rasenshuriken exploded, tearing the storm to pieces and raining fire and ice across the cirque. Even flat on the ground, Sasuke could feel the heat and the pressure beating down on him, pressing him into the bare earth and rock. The power that Naruto could wield – The thought made his stomach clench and sent waves of electricity rushing up and down his body.

He picked himself up, looking around the hollow. Most of the snow was gone, melted by the blast. There were four Snow ninja in a loose ring around them, dropped to their knees or thrown backwards, their faces wet with sweat. Time to cripple their chakra armour before it replenished them. His chidori lance screeched from his hand.

The Snow shinobi toppled over to the sound of breaking glass, utterly exhausted. One tried to stand, but his legs gave out and he fell forward, eyes turning up in his head. Sharingan burning, Sasuke could see the flow of chakra in the suits fading away, the roiling mass in the broken _inyo_ symbols winking out.

Out on the lake, Itachi and Shisui were still fending off attacks. Sasuke started towards them, then checked as Naruto grabbed his sleeve. "Throw these at the Snow ninja for me, will you? My balance is off with this stupid leg."

Sasuke looked down at the pair of fuuma shuriken in Naruto's hands. Transformed kagebunshin, he thought, and a small smile touched his face. "This better be good," he said, casting the first shuriken at the nearest of the Snow ninja. As it whirled out across the cirque, he caught up the second and set his sights on another of the Snow nin.

A moment later, the first shuriken vanished in a puff of smoke as Naruto's kagebunshin dropped the disguise, there was a triumphant shout of "A thousand years of death!", and the Snow ninja went flying through the air, clutching his buttocks and howling.

As he threw the second shuriken, Sasuke made a small sound of contempt or amusement, even he could not tell. Trust Naruto. From rasenshuriken to Kakashi's stupid prank.

"Unconventional," called Shisui, and disappeared. His shunshin brought him out behind another of the Snow nin, and he dispatched her with a quick blow to the back of the head. "But very effective," he added as the last Snow shinobi was sent flying to another exultant cry of Naruto's.

"Impressive," said a voice from behind them, and as one they spun round.

Leaning against one of the generator pillars, arms folded, was Uchiha Madara. "Exploiting the weakness of the chakra armour like that – you truly are your mother's son, Uzumaki Naruto. A playground prankster through and through." Slowly, he straightened up. His black cloak rippled in the wind. "Unfortunately, kids, play time is over."

* * *

><p><strong>End Notes of a Frozen Nature<strong>

Glacier geography may not be everyone's cup of tea, so here follow a few definitions of terms. Crevasses are large cracks or chasms in the ice of the glacier, while seracs are ridges of ice on the glacier's surface. Moraines are ridges of rock and sediment that are formed by glaciers as they slowly slide down to the sea, carving out valleys as they go. As for a cirque, it's a steep-sided hollow at the head of a valley formed by glacial erosion. Performing an image search for most of these terms on Google yields lots of pretty landscape pictures, except for cirque, which gets you lots of pictures of circuses.

Other than geography, there isn't much else to explain in this chapter. However, I suspect there are going to be two sticking points. The first one, Itachi using his sharingan to copy the shōsen jutsu, is vaguely defensible given the abilities of the sharingan. Obito first demonstrates that the sharingan can perceive chakra flow when he sees Rin under genjutsu in the Kakashi Gaiden (ch 243), and everyone knows it can copy. I do have a more detailed explanation for the mechanics of what Itachi does, but am saving it for a little later in the story.

The second one, Naruto breaking his leg, may be harder to swallow, given that he's already using regenerative Kyuubi chakra. Why shouldn't he heal instantly? Well, back in the Sannin fight in part one, his leg is broken by one of Orochimaru's snakes (ch 166), and the injury does not heal immediately - it makes it impossible for him to hit Kabuto with the rasengan at first (ch 167). Later on, when Naruto notices Kisame hiding in his sword while training with Bee, he hits the wall of the cave with enough force to sprain his ankle (ch 505). Again, this doesn't heal immediately, even though he was using the Kyuubi's chakra at the time, and Yamato in fact splints it (ch 506).

So there you have my justification for those two decisions. If they still make you uncomfortable, I shall make a plea for the willing suspension of disbelief, and - to return to the frozen theme started with the glacial geography - ask that you just Let It Go. (I take no responsibility for any songs stuck in your head.)


	15. Family Matters

Sooo, after learning that the _Naruto_ manga was ending, I sat down to finish this chapter - and then "Epilogue, what epilogue?" happened after it had been beta-read and corrected. I sat on this chapter and didn't know if I wanted to continue writing in this fandom. Fortunately for this fic, crowind and puddle-of-lemonade encouraged me to keep going, so here's a shout-out to them! If you're happy that you'll find out which Sai is real, whether Sakura will make it, and what the outcome of the battle at the glacier is, you have them to thank. (Best form of appreciation on this site is to go read their work - it's great!)

Thanks, as always, are due to Just Subliminal, for reading and suggesting changes, and keeping me smiling about this story.

* * *

><p>Chapter Fifteen<p>

Family Matters

The shrill whistle of the kettle on the hob cut through the silence of the living room, and Mebuki hurried to her feet. In the kitchen, a jet of steam was coming from the mouth of the spout stopper, and she quickly took the kettle off the boil and filled the teapot. The cups she retrieved from the cupboard and set out on a tray, and then emptied the hot water into them. As she spooned tea leaves into the empty pot, she realised she had forgotten to ask Mikoto which tea she would like. Oh well. _Sencha_ would have to do.

The water in the cups had cooled enough, and she poured it back into the pot. The pile of dark leaves at the bottom soaked it up, unfurling and starting to float as the teapot filled with water. She stood a moment, watching as the tea began to stain the water yellow, then replaced the lid and carried the tray through.

Mikoto was still sitting on the sofa, her gaze turned inward. As Mebuki set the tray down on the coffee table, she came out of herself with a little shuddering breath. "What a beautiful tea set," she said. "As expected of a Matsuoka."

Mebuki smiled. "I'm afraid it's hardly worthy of the _Shō-an_." She began to pour the tea, alternating between the cups as her mother had taught her. To fill first one then the other would leave one cup insipid and the other with all the strong tea, but to pour a little into one, a little into another would mingle the tea correctly. Strange how soothing the old ritual was. It took her back to when she was a child, kneeling beside her mother, or was it to when she was the teacher and her own daughter the child –

The spell was broken. Her hand shook as she poured, so that the tea slopped over the side of the cup, pooling on the tray. She set the pot down, and made her excuse to get the dishcloth to wipe it up, and somehow reached the safety of the kitchen before the tears started falling. She stood for a moment, leaning against the table for support, one hand pressed against her mouth.

Sakura is all right, she told herself. She was going to the Snow Country – she'll be there by now. There's no reason for her to have stopped in the Water Country. It's Mikoto-san's eldest boy that is likely dead. Now pull yourself together and get back out there.

A pang of resentment went through her at the thought. If Mikoto were not there, she could cry until her tears ran dry, but instead she had to be the gracious hostess. She wanted her house to herself again – but that was selfish. She at least had a roof over her head and Kizashi was here in Konoha. Mikoto had no home to go to, no husband either.

She wiped her eyes and reached for the dishcloth. Sakura was all right. She had to be. No point crying until there was a messenger with a letter.

As they sipped at their tea, they made small talk, anything, Mebuki thought, to keep from wondering about their children. At last, Mikoto set down her cup, and folded her hands in her lap.

"Mebuki-san, you have been very kind to me today. Thank you."

"It was nothing, I assure you."

Mikoto smiled. "It means a great deal to me. However, I must go back to the Uchiha quarter this afternoon – I need to give my sister and the clan the news."

Mebuki put her cup back on the tray. "What time will you be back tonight?"

Mikoto hesitated, surprise clear in her expression. "I would hate to impose."

"It's no imposition. I insist."

A smile flashed across Mikoto's face, and she bowed her head. "Thank you."

"There'll be hot pot for supper," Mebuki said, picking up the tea tray, "and pears for dessert. The last pears of the season, so Sachi-san at the market said, and you know hers are the best in all Konoha."

To Mikoto, hot pot for supper was a very pleasant thought as she stepped out into the cold crisp day. Even with the pale sun overhead, there was a chill that bit through her dress, and she was grateful that she had a roof over her head for the night. The tents were bitter in the still hours after midnight, the air turned to the sort of cold that woke you even with two or three blankets. The sooner she could get the Uchiha quarter built again the better – except Homura and Koharu had told her that most of the building budget was going towards housing the regular villagers as well as shinobi like the Haruno family who lived in council-subsidised apartments, whilst the bigger clans were expected to fend for themselves as best they could.

"We're spread far too thin," Homura had said. "It was bad enough when we were just rebuilding, but having to fight a war, and one on multiple fronts, on top of it is almost impossible. If it weren't for the funding from the daimyo, Konoha would long since have been bankrupt. Nobody makes money in a war like this – it's not a regular mission with paying clients."

They had not mentioned Madara.

Mikoto frowned. There was so much bad news to break. She could already imagine the reaction of Inabi and Tekka, those two hotheads. Once they got started on the injustices suffered by the clan they were impossible to stop, and because Tekka was Fugaku's nephew, his words carried more weight than they would otherwise. Also, there was Teyaki-san –

She shook her head. That had happened a long time ago, before any of the children had been born, and even though Tekka resented it, the rest of the clan did not. But now, if Itachi were dead –

An emotion so strong that it was as a pain went through her chest, and she swayed as she walked. She could not let herself believe it, not yet. Itachi was the pride of the clan, he and Shisui together.

She pressed her lips together and walked on. Her cheeks were pale and her eyes unnaturally bright.

The police station was among the first buildings that had gone up after Akatsuki's attack on Konoha. It stood a few blocks away from the Uchiha quarter, solid and imposing, the insignia of the police freshly painted so that the red and white Uchiha crest shone against the deep blue of the shuriken. The officer at the door sprang to attention as Mikoto entered.

"Is Yashiro-keishi in?"

"Yes, Mikoto-sama. He's upstairs, in his office." The officer paused. "He's in a meeting right now, though. Shall I send a message?"

Mikoto nodded. "Tell him it's urgent."

The officer bowed, made a hand seal and was gone in a puff of smoke. Moments later, he was back before her. "Yashiro-keishi will see you now."

The upper floor of the police station was bright and airy, with light falling through the tall window that overlooked the building entrance and spilling across the desks of the inspectors and administrative staff. It was relatively empty, only a few officers plugging away at their paperwork. As Mikoto passed them, they looked up and greeted her before pretending to return to their piles of paper. She could feel their eyes still on her as she stopped outside the vice-commander's door. Odd, she thought. Did they already know about Kirigakure, or was it something else?

She raised her hand to knock, but even as she did so, the door swung open, forcing her to step back.

"Ah," said a voice dry as dust, and she looked straight into Danzō's dark eyes. "Forgive me, Mikoto-san. I was just leaving."

Over his shoulder she could see Yashiro's long lean face and shock of grey hair. "Danzō-san," she said, bowing her head.

Leaning on his cane, he walked slowly by her, close enough that his sleeve brushed against hers. The smell of old man filled her nostrils. As he went back down the room, between the desks, his uneven footsteps and the slow _tap_, _tap_, _tap_ of the cane sounded on the wooden floorboards.

"Mikoto-san," said Yashiro, rising from his desk, "please come in. Norio says you need to speak with me urgently."

Drawing the door shut behind her, Mikoto took the chair Yashiro offered, settling down with a wan smile. One quick glance told her just how tired he was, his face lined and shadows underneath his eyes. "You're having a busy morning," she said. "I imagine Danzō has told you about Kirigakure?"

Yashiro sighed, and the corners of his mouth turned down. "Yes, he has." He hesitated. "I will visit the Naka shrine today to pray for Itachi's safety."

"Thank you." She folded her hands in her lap. "I have more bad news."

"Is it about the housing?"

"I'm afraid so."

Yashiro slumped against the back of his chair, looking wearier than before. "I'll send out a messenger to call a meeting." He passed one hand over his eyes. "Even Danzō can't chastise us for that."

Mikoto stiffened, her mind starting to race. Of course – she saw it now. The expectant looks of the officers made sudden sense. "Chastise?"

Yashiro gave a short laugh. "When does Shimura Danzō-sama ever make courtesy calls?" He shook his head. "No, Mikoto-san, the real reason for his visit was to upbraid me on the ANBU incident and the slipping standards of discipline and our damned Uchiha insolence. The disaster at Kiri was almost an afterthought."

Mikoto frowned. "He's been in a thorn in Fugaku's side since he took over the leadership of the clan, always carping about some fault or the other. He's never satisfied either, no matter what Fugaku does."

"A chip on both shoulders," Yashiro said. "He really has it in for the Uchiha."

"It makes Fugaku wonder what terrible pranks Kagami-san played on him when they were on a team."

Yashiro raised his brows. "Knowing what his grandson is like –" He checked, and a sudden spasm went over his face. "Shisui – Shisui was out there too, wasn't he?"

"I'm afraid so," Mikoto said quietly. "I have to tell Kannagi-neesan."

Yashiro looked at her in silence for a long moment, the expression in his eyes slowly changing from shock to a hard, despairing look. Abruptly, he stood up, pushing his chair back with a clatter, and strode to the door. "Masaru, Isao, I want every Uchiha you can find to assemble at the clan head's house within half an hour." He turned back to Mikoto. "Let me go with you to find Kannagi-san."

The walk from the police station to the Uchiha quarter was not far, and Mikoto and Yashiro covered the ground quickly. Neither of them spoke, for which Mikoto was grateful. The thought of breaking the news about Shisui to her sister was like a lead weight pressing down on her, slowing her limbs and filling her mouth with emptiness.

The streets of the Uchiha quarter were filled with the sound of hammering and sawing, the clatter of poles and the shouts of workers aloft on the scaffolding. The smell of smoke and grilling meat came on the air, drifting from the shantytown of tents in the shadow of Konoha's walls. Closer to was the scent of toasting rice that every Uchiha had known since childhood, and Mikoto lifted her face, drawing the smell in until the cold air hurt her lungs. It took her back to when she was a little girl, tagging after Kannagi every day after Academy classes were over, the two of them carefully counting out their pocket money for a bag of the crisp rice crackers, freshly baked that day. Everyone knew that Uchiha Senbei made the best crackers in Konoha – soy-flavoured and fish-flavoured, wrapped in nori, even sweet _senbei_.

"Wait a moment, please, Yashiro-san," she said, and went over to the makeshift wooden stall.

Uruchi greeted her with a smile. "How are things with you, Mikoto-chan?"

She looked away, at the trays of golden-brown rice crackers. "There's been bad news from the war front," she said.

Uruchi's round pleasant face changed at once, and she leaned over the counter, placing a hand on Mikoto's. "Oh, my dear," she said. "It's not your boys, is it?"

Mikoto raised her eyes to Uruchi's, feeling the hot sting of tears. "There's a meeting outside my home in half an hour. I have to tell Kannagi-neesan as well." She heard Uruchi's breath catch and felt her fingers tightening on her hand. She drew herself up taller, pressing her lips together, and composed herself once more. "I'd like to take a bag of your regular senbei."

"Of course, my dear." Uruchi picked up a pair of tongs and began to fill a paper bag. "They're on the shop," she said, wagging her head at Mikoto's protests. "I can't take money from you. Not today. Teyaki and Tekka would agree." She folded over the top of the bag, sealing it shut with a sticker, and handed it to Mikoto. "I'll be at the meeting as soon as I have this next batch off the charcoal."

The southwestern part of the Uchiha quarter had largely been rebuilt, with only a few houses still in need of roofing or storm shuuters. This was the district where the clan head and other important families lived, and reconstruction had started here, before moving on to the apartment blocks and smaller townhouses. Like Mikoto, though, most of the Uchiha in the upper district had opened their homes to their fellow clansmen still living in tents, and the usually quiet streets were alive with children and young families.

When Mikoto knocked at Kannagi's door, a young woman with a toddler on her hip answered it. "Yashiro-keishi! Mikoto-san!" she exclaimed.

"I'm here to see my sister," Mikoto said. "Is she in?"

The young woman nodded, stepping aside. "Kannagi-san is in the kitchen, with the children."

As Mikoto slipped her shoes off and stepped barefoot onto the tatami matting, Yashiro slid the door shut, muffling the noise from the street outside. "It would be best," he said, "if Mikoto-san and Kannagi-san could talk in private."

The young woman's face changed, and she clutched her child tighter, so that it began to squirm and whine. "It's not news from the frontlines, is it?" she asked. "My husband – Enji –"

Yashiro shook his head. "I don't know."

Kannagi and two little girls were in the kitchen, making dorayaki pancakes on the hob. Mikoto hesitated on the threshold, watching for a moment longer as her sister laughed with the children, but then the girls' mother called them, and Kannagi turned round and saw her, and she could not put it off any more.

"Mikoto!" Kannagi put her arms around her, enfolding her in her embrace, and it was all she could do to keep from sobbing. "It's all right. I'm here."

Yashiro shepherded the children and their mother out of the kitchen, and Mikoto drew a shuddering breath, and pulled back, out of her sister's arms. She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, then held up the paper bag of rice crackers. "Regular flavour," she said. "I thought you'd like them, _nee-san_."

Kannagi smiled, but her eyes were sharp, moving over Mikoto with grave attention. "Thank you." She took her apron off and folded it over one arm. "What's the matter, Mikoto-chan?"

It was so much harder to say it, now that she was come to it. She set the bag of crackers down on the counter top, looked up again and met her sister's gaze. "It's – about the division at Kirigakure."

Kannagi went white as chalk. Her lips moved, but no sound came out.

"It was attacked by Akatsuki, and – and – wiped out." Mikoto's voice cracked, and the tears that had been building all day overflowed at last.

Every line that had ever been on Kannagi's face was etched into the skin, pulling her mouth and eyes down. "Shisui," she said.

Mikoto shook her head. "We don't know anything about the survivors."

Kannagi closed her eyes, biting her lip until a bead of blood formed. Then she let out a long slow exhalation, and looked at her sister. "There is still some hope, then," she said. She grasped Mikoto gently by the elbow. "Come on."

The little household shrine was in the next room. Sitting next to it was a pair of framed photographs, and two sticks of gently burning incense. Clasping her hands, Kannagi went down on her knees before the shrine, and bowed her head. Mikoto followed suit, pausing for a moment to look at the smiling faces of the boys in the pictures, Shisui and Itachi together on the right, and on the left, Obito as he was before that last mission eighteen years ago. A pang went through her as she looked at his photo, and she bent her head to pray, to pray for the safety of her boys, both her boys, and Shisui, so that her sister might be spared the pain of losing her second son.

She slipped one arm around Kannagi, and leaned her head against her sister's. Kannagi reached up and clasped her hand, fingers squeezing hard. Every now and again, she could feel the quivering of her shoulders and hear the soft shaking breaths as her sister wept in silence.

A gentle tap at the door roused her, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Yashiro at the threshold. He pointed to his wrist, and she nodded. He bowed out quietly, and she turned back to her sister. "_Nee-san_," she said, "I'm afraid I have to go – Yashiro-san has called a meeting to break the news to the clan."

Kannagi raised a tear-stained face to hers. "Yes," she said. "I understand. Thank you for the senbei."

Mikoto smiled, but it was weak and watery. "I would far rather stay with you."

Kannagi reached out and brushed her bangs from her face, her touch light and yet comforting. "My sweet Mikoto," she said. "You are far braver than I. If I had half your strength and courage –" She sighed, and let her hand fall back to her lap. "Come back here afterwards. At least I can make you tea."

There was a small crowd already gathered outside Mikoto's own house, and from the buzzing of talk, the anxious looks and the quiet weeping, it was clear that the rumours of the fall of Kirigakure had reached the Uchiha quarter already. As all the desperate hopeful eyes turned her way, Mikoto was inwardly glad that Yashiro at least would be the one to confirm it, though she would have to bring the bad news about the housing. Standing before her house, she looked over those assembled. Uruchi was there with her husband Teyaki, both of them looking sombre. Uruchi must have told him already, she thought, and her eyes drifted to the dark head off to their right. As she had expected, Tekka was there, talking to Inabi. Too much to hope for, she thought, that the hotheads would not come.

Yashiro coughed twice, and the gathering fell silent. "Many of you are doubtless wondering why I have called this meeting," he said. "There are distressing rumours flying around the village, and unfortunately this meeting has only bad news. Kirigakure has fallen to Akatsuki. The fate of the Allied division stationed there is unknown."

Someone cried out, and was shushed. Mikoto could see the expressions on her clansmen's faces changing, turning to dread and grief. In the middle of the crowd, she saw Uruchi gasp and clutch at Teyaki.

"There is also bad news at home," Yashiro went on, and nodded to Mikoto. In the crowd she watched Tekka pricking up his ears.

"I have spoken to Homura-san and Koharu-san on the Council," she said, "and they say that they cannot afford to rebuild the Uchiha quarter at present. The village is concentrating its funds on homes for those without clans, tradesmen and special divisions and services. Reconstructing the police station is as much as they will do for now."

There were murmurs now of discontent amongst the sobbing.

"So that's all we get," Tekka said. "A police station, and no more. They don't have the funds – but their homes are rebuilt already, whilst our clan is sharing houses and sleeping in cells and under canvas."

Inabi, beside him, nodded, and Mikoto watched the ripple of assent spread out. "The other clans are having to rebuild by themselves as well," she said.

"But they can hire builders," Inabi said, "and thanks to an Uchiha starting the war, our own village suspects us and is unwilling to help us."

"That's true," called out a woman from the back of the group. "My brother was being tailed by ANBU just the other day, for no good reason either, and when he asked him to stop, the ANBU tried to start a fight."

Mikoto glanced at Yashiro, but he simply stood there, saying nothing, face carefully blank. So, she thought, he may have been chastised by Danzō over the incident, but he has nothing to say. A twitch of irritation went through her, and she wished that Fugaku were at her side.

Others were chiming in now with tales of slights both real and imagined, and Mikoto sighed. "I will talk to the Council again," she said. "It won't change the lack of funds for reconstruction, but they may agree to send a construction corps from the engineers to help. As for the rest of the villagers –" She paused for a moment, remembering the look that Mebuki's neighbours had given her the afternoon before. "They are suspicious of us," she said, "and that's neither right nor fair. But being angry with them will only make them more afraid and angry in turn."

"Easy to say," said Inabi. "How are we police supposed to do our job when people resent us for doing it?"

"That's nothing new," Yashiro said. "I've yet to meet a shinobi or villager who appreciated being arrested."

His words got a laugh, but then Tekka spoke up again. "No, it's nothing new. The villagers have resented us for a while now. The war is just an excuse."

"We need help building," another woman said. "My family is still living in tents, and it is so cold in the morning. My youngest is two, and he has a cough. Will we be indoors by the time it starts to rain and storm? Why should we be so disliked by our fellow villagers that they won't help us?"

Others murmured their assent, but Uruchi broke in. "Mikoto-san is right," she said. "We'll get more help if we help the other villagers. Teyaki and I – everyone in Konoha knows we make good _senbei_, and just this morning, we had a carpenter come by, a regular villager, mind you, not a shinobi, and when he heard we still had no roof over our heads, he said he would see to it once he had finished his current project. So you see, perhaps if we were more friendly, we'd have more help."

Mikoto nodded. "We aren't the only villagers without houses, either," she added. "Half of Konoha is living in tents. I know it is unpleasant, but if we can be patient just a little longer –"

"Say you!" Tekka's voice rang out, cutting across hers. There was a soft intake of breath across the crowd at the interruption. "Easy enough to be patient when your own house has been rebuilt. You heard my mother – my parents haven't got a place of their own, even though my father is the clan head's older brother, and winter is coming on."

"Tekka-san." A hard undertone had crept into Mikoto's words, and she looked at her nephew with steely eyes. "I hear you, but I am not staying in my own home."

"No," Tekka said, matching her gaze. "You are living with villagers outside the clan. You sympathise with the Council and don't understand our family's plight."

A wave of heat rushed through Mikoto's veins, tingling and stinging, and she felt a tremendous pressure building behind her eyes. She was trembling in every limb. With a tremendous effort of will, she closed her eyes, and let the sharingan blaze behind her lowered lids.

"Tekka!" It was Teyaki, his voice booming and stern. "You go too far. Mikoto-san doesn't understand our family's plight? Do I need to remind you that Itachi was at Kirigakure? Do I need to tell you that your aunt has lost her son?"

Slowly, Mikoto opened her eyes again. Her face was very pale, but two brilliant pink spots blazed in her cheeks. She looked straight at Tekka, still quivering with suppressed emotion, and he bowed deeply.

"I apologise," he said. "I was out of line."

She glanced over at Teyaki. "Please forgive him," he said. "He spoke from the heat of his feelings."

"I understand. After so much bad news, feelings run high." She turned back to the rest of the clan. "As I have said, I will speak to the Council again and see what can be done about the houses. As for those who were at Kirigakure, Yashiro-keishi will be conducting a ceremony at the Naka shrine this afternoon to pray for their safety. That is all."

The hum of conversation broke out again, mingling with the sound of quiet crying. Mikoto let out her breath, avoiding Uruchi's attempts to catch her eye. "Yashiro-san," she said, "please burn some incense for me at the shrine."

"You won't be there?" he asked, a faint frown between his brows. Served him right, she thought. If he had taken charge at the meeting and not left her to bear the brunt of the anger and disappointment, he would not be the one saddled with the ceremony and all the tears and anger and desperate hope that came with it.

"No," she said, feeling suddenly weary, and wishing more than anything else to have Fugaku with her, so that she could lean on his shoulder and hide her face from the world and weep. "I must see to my sister."

xXx

With a roar, the rasenshuriken detonated, blades of wind spiralling outwards and blowing snow and dirt across the glacial cirque. Naruto's shadow clones dispelled with a burst of smoke, and Naruto himself dropped to his knees, breath hissing through his teeth as the broken ends of his thigh grated against each other. The orange markings round his eyes faded.

"Don't push yourself, idiot," Sasuke said, peering through the cloud of dust and snow with his sharingan.

"Can you see him?"

Sasuke glared ahead. "Looks like it went right through him, just like the rest."

"Damn it. Damn it, damn it." Naruto clenched his fists. "How are we supposed to fight someone that can't be hit?" He glanced around the little hollow, swept bare of snow, the ground cracked and pitted from their attacks, and then back at Madara, unscathed, his cloak not even dirtied, and ground his teeth.

"There are limits to the technique," Itachi said. "He goes intangible when attacked physically, but then he can't teleport, and he can't attack. He needs his body to be present to do both. There will be other weaknesses as well. Even Pain's techniques were not perfect."

"He's not like Nagato," said Naruto. "He doesn't have to wait after using his techniques before he can use them again."

"Ah," said Shisui, "but is there a time limit on how long he can keep up the intangibility? That's what I would like to know."

Naruto growled in frustration. "It doesn't look like it. I've been attacking and attacking, and he isn't even scratched!"

"But not non-stop," said Shisui. "Itachi, Sasuke, grand fireballs, one after another. Naruto, use the Kyuubi's chakra arms for a volley of rasenrangan to hit him as soon as Sasuke's fireball finishes. We're going to push him to the limit of his technique, if we can." He sprang forward, and a moment later, the brilliant flames of his fireball went scorching across the iced-over lake, sending up clouds of hissing steam, and engulfed Madara where he stood.

Naruto struggled to rise, his broken leg shaking with the effort. No time to go back into Sage Mode, he thought, and closed his eyes to focus on the well of chakra he had taken from the Kyuubi. There was less of it than he had expected, but after arriving in the Snow Country, he had used so much. No time for it to regenerate, not after all the fighting and running and fighting again. He would have to make this attack count.

As he sank deeper into his mind and reached for the chakra, he felt the demon fox stir within its cage.

"_You've been down here a lot_," it said. "_If you keep using that chakra, you'll run out of it, you know_."

"_Then I'll just use my own_," he replied.

The Kyuubi chuckled. "_You'll be back here_. _You need me, Naruto_." It lowered its head on its forepaws, watching him with its great glowing eyes.

"_I said I'd deal with you later_." Naruto felt the golden chakra seeping into his coils. "_I don't have the time now, Kyuubi_."

"_Oh, I can wait_." The fox bared its teeth in a grin, and closed its eyes. "_See you soon, Naruto_."

He came back to himself with a rush, chakra arms erupting from the shroud of brilliant chakra that covered him. Shisui's fireball had burned out, and away on his left Itachi's was starting to dwindle. A swathe of the lake ice had turned to slush, and steam rose in clouds from the water. In a moment, it would be Sasuke's turn, and then his. The whine of a score of forming rasengan filled his ears.

Beside him, Sasuke inflated his lungs, and Naruto readied himself. With a _whumph_, Sasuke's fireball streamed across the cirque, roiling and boiling over Madara. Naruto glanced swiftly around the rocky hollow, counting the unconscious Snow ninja, looking to see where they lay and that they were still unharmed. If they could just see off Madara, he could talk to the ninja when they came round, explain to them that they were friends – His eyes flinched away from the pair he had hit with rasengan before discovering they were not Zetsu.

"Now, Naruto!" yelled Shisui, and he turned back to the fight, his chakra arms shooting out across the lake. The first rasengan crashed into Madara, and for a moment, Naruto thought it had made real contact. Then it too slipped through him and smashed into the ground. Strike after strike went through the dark figure, and Naruto's rage and frustration began to mount. Heat bubbled up in his belly.

"So you still can't control the Kyuubi fully," Madara said, and stepped forward, sliding through the next rasengan. "The Uzumaki may be descendants of the Sage of Six Paths, but you still cannot hold a candle to the Uchiha. The power of Kyuubi is wasted on you. Sasuke would use it better."

He continued his deliberate advance, gliding through the barrage of attacks. "Just think, Sasuke, all those times you have marvelled at Naruto's power – when it should by rights be yours, and could so easily be yours. You know what is written on the Clan's tablet in the Naka shrine about the history of the sharingan and its ability to control the bijuu."

The second-last rasengan passed through Madara, and as Naruto aimed the final one, his golden chakra shroud flickered, guttered like a candle in the wind. He clenched his teeth, feeling the burning in his keirakukei as he squeezed the last drops of chakra out. The rasengan in the palm of the chakra hand was shrinking, and the arm itself – He needed just a little more – just a little more –

The golden light dulled, glowing like a dim furnace. Bubbles seethed up along the chakra arm, and the Kyuubi's laughter filled Naruto's skull.

No! he thought, and with an effort of will, he forced the fox back down. The rasengan sputtered out, the chakra cloak vanished, and he pitched forward on his face, shaking in every limb. His skin felt raw, and his veins were searing with pain. The throbbing in his broken leg was almost unbearable.

Feet flashed before him. "You really overdid it, idiot."

Sasuke, he thought.

"You'd better not pass out on me."

"I'm trying," he managed, struggling to raise himself up on his forearms. Between Sasuke's legs he could see Madara, but there was a spreading blackness that danced and leaped like flames. A pang of nausea struck him, and he retched, his body heaving, and then he slumped forward once more.

Sasuke sensed him fall, but there was no time to jibe at him. Dark fire was burning on the surface of the lake and all around Madara. The heat radiating from it was intense. Even at this distance, his hair and clothes flapped in the updraft. "What the hell –"

Suddenly, Madara spun to his right, towards Itachi, and shot out of the black flames. Without thinking, Sasuke started towards his brother, and then checked. Naruto was still flat on the ground, damn him. He could not leave him alone. Quivering all over, he held himself in place, his eyes flying to Itachi.

To his shock, his brother was stooped, one hand raised to his face, covering his right eye. A thread of what looked like blood was running down between his fingers. He had not seen Madara's approach.

"_Nii-san_!"

Itachi heard his warning cry, and looked up just in time to see Madara bearing down on him, a black rod slipping out from the sleeve of his cloak. He sprang backwards, ducking as the rod passed over his head, and dropped to all fours, casting a flight of shuriken at Madara's legs. Not waiting to see if they would phase through, he rolled off to one side and executed a backspring to regain his feet. Quick as a flash, Madara followed.

There was no time to dodge. He would have to block this strike. His eyes were aching, his vision a blurry mess, even with the sharingan. In came the blow, and he brought his arms up to parry the rod. Even as he did so, he could tell that the path of the black rod was changing, Madara moving to counter his defence.

With a shrill screeve of metal on metal, Shisui was suddenly between them, his kunai knocking the rod out of Madara's hand and sending it spinning through the air. In the same instant, his foot landed solidly in Madara's stomach, making him grunt, and flung him back.

"Are you all right?" Shisui glanced over his shoulder, his face drawn and anxious.

Itachi straightened up. "Thanks for the save." A bolt of pain went through his right eye, and he pressed one hand to it. "Don't worry about me. I can keep going."

Shisui looked at him a moment longer. "Mikoto-oba will have my head if you don't get home in one piece, you know," he said, shaking his head, then turned back to Madara. "Well, we landed the first real hit. That technique does have its limits after all. It comes down to who has the better timing and reaction speed."

Madara gave a short laugh. "One hit, and you think you're all that." He raised one gloved hand and pointed straight at Shisui. "Don't get cocky, brat."

Itachi caught the hitch in his cousin's breath, and the almost imperceptible stiffening through his shoulders.

"Perhaps you should be considering your own words," Shisui said. "After all, you haven't yet landed a single blow. You won't get the generator that way."

"The generator!" Madara scoffed. His eyes glinted in the holes of his mask. "As if the generator were worth all this fuss. You think too small, if you think the generator is truly important. No, the generator is not what I want. The power it can produce is as nothing next to that of Daidarabocchi."

"Daidarabocchi?" A picture slid into Itachi's mind of the hidden room beneath the floor of the Naka shrine, and carved words dancing in candlelight. "Then the generator – the mission to the Snow Country – it was all a fake, to lure Naruto-kun out here?"

Madara shrugged. "What of it? Explanations are of no use to those who are about to die." He slipped another rod out from his sleeve, and sprang towards Itachi and Shisui.

From out of the corner of his eye, Shisui glimpsed a blur of movement. A shuriken whirled through the air, curving around behind Madara and then changing course in mid-flight. It struck Madara on the upper right side of his mask, the blades biting in with a ringing sound. Thrown off balance, Madara stumbled, his attack checked in its tracks.

The mask cracked. The sound of it splitting seemed unnaturally loud in the world of rock and snow and ice. Shisui's heart was hammering against his ribs as he watched the upper right part of the mask break away. Madara's sharingan gleamed red in the daylight. His gaze met and held Shisui's as the tomoes enlarged and merged, and the air around him started to shimmer. There was a mocking look in his eye.

One moment he was there, and then the next he was gone, whirled away by the vortex of his space-time jutsu, leaving Shisui staring shaking after him.

* * *

><p><strong>End Notes of a Confusing Genealogical<strong> **Nature**

As you can see, Uchiha family relationships and politics are starting to become important in this chapter, and with the introduction of Mikoto's sister Kannagi and all the mentions of various Uchiha uncles, aunts and cousins, I present my fictitious family tree. The useful diagram version unfortunately doesn't work here, so it has to be explained in words instead.

Canonically, Obito is an orphan with no siblings, but in this fic, Obito and Shisui are the sons of Kannagi, and are thus Itachi and Sasuke's maternal cousins, as Kannagi and Mikoto are sisters. Shisui is said to be descended from Uchiha Kagami in the manga; I have chosen to make Kagami the father of Shisui's father, and no relation to Mikoto and Kannagi.

In this fic, Tekka's father Teyaki is Fugaku's older brother, making Tekka Itachi and Sasuke's paternal cousin. Obito and Shisui are not related to Tekka. In the manga, Teyaki and Uruchi are the older couple Sasuke talks to on his way to school on the day of the massacre (chapter 225). Tekka, along with Inabi and Yashiro, is one of the police squad that comes to talk to Itachi about Shisui's suicide in chapter 221.

Kannagi's name, meaning "shrine maiden", was chosen to match the religious associations of her sister Mikoto's name, which is part of the name of the deity Susanoo-no-Mikoto.

The title _keishi_ that Mikoto addresses Yashiro by refers to the superintendent or vice commanding officer of a police station.

Daidarabocchi is another name for the Juubi (see chapter 594). In Japanese mythology, it was a giant whose footprints created lakes, and who accidentally dropped Mt Tsukuba and split its peak.


End file.
